JAMES 
FENIMORE  COOPER 


<J 


JAMES 
FENIMORE   COOPER 


BY 


MARY   E.   PHILLIPS 


NEW  YORK:  JOHN  LANE  COMPANY 

LONDON  :   JOHN   LANE  :   THE  BODLEY  HEAD 

TORONTO  :    BELL  AND  COCKBURN 

MCMXIII 


COPYRIGHT,   1912 
BY  MARY  E.  PHILLIPS 


THE    UNIVERSITY    PRESS,    CAMBRIDGE,   U.S.A. 


OEDICATED  TO  THE  YOUNG  OF 

ALL  AGES  FROM  THE  YEARS  OF  TEN 

TO  TEN  TIMES  TEN 


256359 


PREFACE 

1  HE  intention  of  this  simply  told  personal  life 
of  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  the  creator  of 
American  romance,  is  to  have  all  material  au 
thentic.  The  pictures  of  men,  women,  places  and 
things  are,  as  nearly  as  possible,  of  Cooper's 
association  with  them  to  reproduce  a  background 
of  his  time  and  to  make  the  man  —  not  the 
author  —  its  central  foreground  figure.  From 
everv  available  source  since  the  earliest  mention 

•^ 

of  the  author's  name,  both  in  print  and  out, 
material  for  these  pages  has  been  collected.  In 
this  wide  gleaning  in  the  field  of  letters  —  a 
rich  harvest  from  able  and  brilliant  pens  —  the 
gleaner  hereby  expresses  grateful  appreciation 
of  these  transplanted  values.  Much,  precious  in 
worth  and  attractive  in  interest,  comes  into  these 
pages  from  the  generous  and  good  among  the 
relatives,  friends,  and  admirers  of  Fenimore 
Cooper.  And  more  than  all  others,  the  author's 


grand-nephew,  the  late  Mr.  George  Pomeroy 
Keese,  of  Cooperslown,  New  York,  has  paid  rich 
and  rare  tribute  to  the  memory  of  his  uncle, 
with  whom  when  a  boy  he  came  in  living  touch. 
Appeals  to  Cooper's  grandson,  James  Fenimore 
Cooper,  Esq.,  of  Albany,  New  York,  and  also 
to  his  publishers  have  been  met  in  a  spirit  so 
gracious  and  their  giving  has  been  so  generous 
as  to  command  the  grateful  service  of  the  writer. 
For  rare  values,  in  service  and  material,  special 
credits  are  due  to  Mr.  George  Pomeroy  Keese, 
Cooperstown,  N.  Y. ;  James  Fenimore  Cooper, 
Esq.,  Albany,  N.  Y. ;  Mr.  Francis  Whiting  Hal- 
sey,  New  York  City;  Mr.  Edwin  Tenney  Stiger, 
Watertown,  Mass. ;  General  James  Grant  Wilson, 
New  York  City;  Mr.  Horace  G.  Wadlin,  Libra 
rian,  Messrs.  Otto  Fleischner,  Assistant  Librarian, 
O.  A.  Bierstadt,  F.  C.  Blaisdell,  and  others,  of 
the  Boston  Public  Library;  Miss  Alice  Bailey 
Keese,  Cooperstown,  N.  Y. ;  Mrs.  T.  Henry 
Dewey,  Paris,  France;  Mrs.  Edward  Emerson 
Waters,  New  York  City;  and  Miss  Mary  C. 
Sheridan,  Boston,  Mass. 

MARY  E.  PHILLIPS. 


INTRODUCTION 

A  LIFE  of  Cooper,  written  with  some  particular 
reference  to  the  picturesque  village  among  the 
Otsego  hills,  where  he  so  long  lived  and  in  whose 
soil  he,  for  some  sixty  years  or  more,  has  slept, 
has  long  been  needed.  That  such  a  book  should 
have  become  a  labor  of  love  in  the  hands  of 
Miss  Phillips  is  not  more  interesting  than  it  is 
fortunate  that  the  task  should  have  been  accom 
plished  so  conspicuously  well.  Miss  Phillips  has 
borne  testimony  to  the  resourcefulness  and  rare 
devotion  with  which  the  late  Mr.  Keese  assisted 
her  in  researches  extending  over  many  years. 
None  knew  so  well  as  he  the  personal  side  of 
Cooper's  whole  life  story;  none  so  assiduously 
and  so  lovingly,  during  a  long  life  spent  in 
Cooperstown,  gathered  and  tried  to  preserve  in 
their  integrity  every  significant  and  interesting 
detail  of  it. 

The  turning  point  in  Cooper's  life  was  reached 
when  he  went  to  Coopersto\vn,  although  he  was 


little  more  than  a  child  in  arms.  Most  curious 
is  it  that  his  going  should  have  resulted  from 
the  foreclosure  of  a  mortgage.  This  mortgage 
had  been  given  in  the  late  Colonial  period  by 
George  Croghan,  and  covered  a  vast  tract  of 
native  forest  lands  in  Otsego.  In  these  lands, 
through  the  foreclosure,  Cooper's  father,  soon 
after  the  Revolution,  acquired  a  large  interest, 
which  led  him  to  abandon  his  home  of  ease  and 
refinement  in  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  and  found 
a  new,  and,  as  it  proved  to  be,  .a  permanent 
one  in  the  unpeopled  wilderness  at  the  foot  of 
Otsego  Lake.  Except  for  this  accident  of  for 
tune,  Leatherstocking  and  his  companions  of 
the  forest  never  could  have  been  created  by  the 
pen  of  Cooper. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER.  From  Appleton  portrait.  By 
permission  of  owner,  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  Esq., 

of  Albany,  N.  Y Frontispiece 

THE  ENGLISH  FYNAMORE  COUNTRY  AND  FAMILY  ARMS  .    .    .  xxiv 
COOPER'S   BIRTHPLACE.      Burlington,   N.   J.     From   a   photo 
graph  by  George  W.  Tichnor i 

THE  FENIMORE  Box.  (Of  light  and  dark  woods,  size 
i2l/2  X  6^4  inches.)  From  photograph  by  permission  of 
owner,  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  Esq.,  Albany,  N.  Y.  3 

THE  SUSQUEHANNA.     By  W.  H.  Bartlett 4 

CHINGACHGOOK  ON  COUNCIL  ROCK.     From  a  photograph  by 

A.  J.   Telfer 5 

COUNCIL  ROCK.    From  a  photograph  by  A.  J.  Telfer    ....        6 
THE  MANOR.     From  outline  on  first  map  of  Cooperstown, 
1788-1790.     By  permission  of  owner,  James  Fenimore 

Cooper,   Esq 9 

ORIGINAL  OTSEGO  HALL.  From  outline  on  1800-1808  map  of 
Cooperstown.  By  permission  of  owner,  James  Feni 
more  Cooper,  Esq 9 

JUDGE  WILLIAM  COOPER.     By  Gilbert  Stuart.     By  permission 

of  owner,  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  Esq 10 

GENERAL  WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.     From  a  portrait  by 

Woods,    1812       14 

WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON,  1800.  From  "  St.  Memim's  Gal 
lery  of  Portraits " 15 

TALLEYRAND.     From  a  portrait  by  F.  Gerard 17 

POINT  JUDITH.  From  a  photograph  by  A.  J.  Telfer  ....  20 
"  EDGEWATER."  By  courtesy  of  Mr.  George  Pomeroy  Keese  21 
MR,  AND  MRS.  GEORGE  POMEROY.  By  the  courtesy  of  Mr. 

George  Pomeroy  Keese 22 

THE  OLD  STONE  HOUSE.     By  the  courtesy  of  Mr.   George 

Pomeroy  Keese      23 

COOPERSTOWN  PRIOR  TO  1835.     From  The  Family  Magazine, 

1836-1837      25 

[   xiii   ] 


PAGE 

DR.    THOMAS   ELLISON.      By   the   courtesy   of    Mr.    George 

Pomeroy  Keese      29 

ST.   PETER'S   CHURCH,  ALBANY,  N.  Y.     By  the  courtesy  of 

Dr.  Joseph  Hooper,  Durham,  Conn 30 

STATE  STREET,  ALBANY,  N.  Y.,  1802.     By  the  courtesy  of  Dr. 

Joseph  Hooper 31 

"  NEAR  SHORES  "  OF  NEW  HAVEN,    From  an  old  print   ...       36 

DR.  TIMOTHY  DWIGHT.     From  an  old  print 37 

YALE  COLLEGE,  1806.     By  the  courtesy  of  Professor  John  C. 

Schwab,  Ph.D.,  Librarian,  Yale  University 37 

WILLIAM   JAY   IN   YOUTH.      By   Vanderlyn.     From    Bayard 

Tuckerman's  "  William  Jay,"  etc.    By  courtesy  of  author 

and  publishers,  Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  N.  Y 38 

JUDGE  WILLIAM  JAY.     From  a  crayon  by  Martin.     Dodd, 

Mead  &  Co.,  N.  Y 38 

SILHOUETTE  OF  JAMES  COOPER  WHEN  A  STUDENT  AT  YALE.   By 

the  courtesy  of  Professor  John  C.  Schwab,  Ph.D.   .    .       39 

OUTWARD  BOUND       42 

GIBRALTAR.    From  "  Le  Monde  Illustrc,"  1903 45 

SAILOR'S  SNUG  HARBOR.    From  Frank  Leslie's  Weekly,  Vol.  I      49 
OTSEGO  HALL  GATES.     By  courtesy  of  Mr.  George  Pomeroy 

Keese 50 

BUFFALO  BURNT.     From  an  old  woodcut  in  Spear's  "  United 

States  Navy  " 52 

THE  "  VESUVIUS."    From  "  Life  of  Fulton,"  by  J.  F.  Reigart, 

1856  53 

ONTARIO  FORESTS,     By  W.  H.  Bartlett 54 

THE  THOUSAND  ISLANDS.     By  W.  H.  Bartlett 55 

THE  PORT  OF  BUFFALO.     From  an  old  print 56 

CAPTAIN  M.   T.   WOOLSEY.     From   Spear's  "  United   States 

Navy" 57 

THE  PATHFINDER.     By  F.  O.  C.  Darley 59 

A  BUBBLE  OF  A  BOAT.     By  F.  O.  C.  Darley 60 

CAPTAIN  LAWRENCE.    From  a  portrait  by  Chappel 61 

THE  "  WASP."     From  an  old  print 61 

FRAUNCES  TAVERN.     By  the  courtesy  of  Dr.  Joseph  Hooper, 

Durham,  Conn 65 

LIEUT.  Gov.  JAMES  DE  LANCEY'S  SEAL.     From  Vol.  I,  M.  J. 

Lamb's  "  History  of  New  York  City  " 65 

HEATHCOTE  ARMS.     From  an  old  print 65 

HON.  CALEB  HEATHCOTE.    From  print  by  V.  Belch 66 

FRAUNCES  TAVERN   LONG-ROOM.     From  "  History  of  New 

York,"  by  Mary  L.  Booth,  1857 67 


PAGE 

BURN'S  COFFEE  HOUSE.  From  an  old  print 68 

HEATHCOTE  HILL.  By  the  courtesy  of  J.  W.  Clapp,  editor 

Rlchbell  Press,  Mamaroneck,  X.  Y 69 

TANDEM.  From  a  rare  old  color-print.  By  the  courtesy  of 

George  Samuel  Tucker,  Peterboro,  N.  H 69 

COOPER'S  FENIMORE  FARM  HOUSE.  By  the  courtesy  of  Mr. 

George  Pomeroy  Keese 70 

ELIZABETH  FENIMORE  COOPER  IN  THE  OLD  HALL  HOME.  By 

the  courtesy  of  Elizabeth  Cooper  Keese 73 

COOPER'S  ANGEVINE  FARM  HOME.  From  "  Homes  of  Ameri 
can  Authors."  G.  L.  Putnam  Sons,  1853 74 

MAMARONECK  CREEK  SLOOPS.  From  Bryant's  "  History  of 

the  United  States  " 75 

JUDGE  JOHN  JAY.  From  print  of  Trurnbull  portrait  ....  78 

BEDFORD  HOUSE.  From  an  old  print 79 

BEDFORD  HOUSE  LIBRARY.  From  Vol.  II,  Lamb's  "  History 

of  New  York  City " 80 

HARVEY  BIRCH'S  CAVE.  By  courtesy  of  Arthur  B.  Maurice, 

author  of  "  New  York  in  Fiction  " 81 

THE  LOCUSTS  OF  COOPER'S  TIME.  From  Lossing's  "  Fielcl- 

Book  of  the  War  of  1812  " 83 

THE  LOCUSTS  OF  TO-DAY.  By  courtesy  of  the  owner,  Law 
rence  Durham,  Esq 83 

TITLE- PAGE  OF  THE  FIRST  EDITION  OF  ''  THE  SPY  " 85 

ENOCH  CROSBY.  From  "  History  of  Westchester  County, 

N.  Y."  By  Spooner  and  Shenard 86 

LAFAYETTE  THEATRE.  From  New  York  Mirror,  Vol.  V  .  .  87 
COOPER'S  HEROINES.  By  courtesy  of  Rev.  Ralph  Birdsall 

and  Miss  Catherine  N.  Duyckinck 89 

WINDHURST'S  NOOK,  UNDER  THE  PARK  THEATRE.  From 

"  History  of  New  York  City,"  by  Mary  L.  Booth,  1859  .  90 
JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER,  1822.  From  a  photograph  of  the 

J.   W.   Jarvis   portrait.      By   permission   of   the   owner, 

James  Fenimore  Cooper,  Esq.,  Albany,  N.  Y 91 

FITZ-GREENE  HALLECK.  From  print  of  Tnman  portrait.  By 

permission  of  owner,  Gen.  James  Grant  Wilson  ...  92 

JOSEPH  RODMAN  DRAKE.  From  "  Poems  " 92 

CRO'  NEST.  From  "  Poems,"  by  Joseph  Rodman  Drake  ...  93 

SAMUEL  WOODWORTH.  From  a  rare  lithograph 94 

THE  OLD  OAKEN  BUCKET.  By  F.  S.  Agate 94 

CITY  HOTEL.  From  Vol.  IT,  "  History  of  New  York  City," 

by  M.  J.  Lamb 97 

WASHINGTON  HALL.  From  "  Valentine's  Manual  ".....  97 

[   xv   ] 


PAGE 

EARLY  BROADWAY.     Old  prints 97 

WILLIAM  WORDSWORTH.     By  B.  Whitechurch 98 

COOPER'S  NEW  YORK  CITY  HOME  IN  BEACH  STREET.     By  the 

courtesy  of  General  James  Grant  Wilson 99 

ST.  JOHN'S  CHAPEL.    From  The  York  Mirror 99 

OLD  LEATHERSTOCKING.    From  "  The  Pioneers  " 101 

NATTY'S  CAVE.     From  an  old  print 103 

GENERAL  JAMES  CLINTON.     From  an  old  print 104 

CLINTON  DAM.     From  a  photograph  by  A.  J.  Telfer   ....  105 
"  TALKS  FOR  FIFTEEN,  OR  IMAGINATION  AND  HEART."    By  per 
mission  of  the  owner,  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  Esq.    .  107 

CHARLES  WILKES.     From  portrait  by  Thos.  Sully 108 

JOHN  PAUL  JONES.     From  portrait  by  C.  W.  Peale   ....  108 

LONG  TOM  COFFIN.     F.  O.  C.  Darley in 

BRYANT,    WEBSTER    AND    IRVING.      From    sketch    by    Daniel 

Huntington  by  the  courtesy  of  owner,  Mr.  Day,  Boston  113 
THE  LANDING  OF  LAFAYETTE,  1824.     From  "  Complete  His 
tory  of  Lafayette,"   1825  edition 115 

LAFAYETTE.     Portrait  by  Sully 116 

LAFAYETTE'S  BRANDYWINE  VASE.     From  an  old  print   ...  116 

JOB  PRAY.     By  F.  O.  C.  Darley 117 

THE  BURNING  OF  CHARLESTOWN.     From  an  old  print   ...  118 

WHIPPLE  HOUSE,  AT  PROVIDENCE,  R.  I.     From  an  old  print  119 
MRS.  JAMES   MONROE.     By  the  courtesy  of  General  James 

Grant    Wilson 119 

PRESIDENT'S  HOUSE,  WASHINGTON,  D.   C.,   1825.     From  an 

old    print      119 

SUNRISE  AT  SOUTH  MOUNTAIN.     Drawn  by  Harry  Fenn  for 

D.  Appleton  and  Co.,  N.  Y 121 

GLENS  FALL'S  CAVERNS.     From  "  The  Hudson,"  by  Lossing  122 

HONORABLE  MR.  STANLEY.     Portrait  by  G.  Harlow,  1833  .    .  123 

GLENS  FALL.    By  W.  H.  Bartlett 124 

LAKE  GEORGE,  OR  "  THE  HORICAN."     By  W.  H.  Bartlett   .    .  125 
THE  WAGER  SEAL  (i  X  il/%  inches).     By  permission  of  the 

owner,  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  Esq 127 

BRYANT.     Portrait  by  Barrett 128 

"  NATTY,  THE  TRAPPER."    By  F.  O.  C.  Darley 130 

HENRY  CLAY.     From  a  daguerreotype,  engraved  by  Buttre  131 

CHANCELLOR  KENT.     Portrait  by  Chappel 131 

THE  U.  S.  S.  "  HUDSON."     By  W.  J.  Bennett 132 

WHITEHALL  WHARF,  1826.    From  "  Valentine's  Manual,"  1853  133 


PAGE 

KEEP  OF  CARISBROOK.     By  J.  and  F.  Harwood,  London,  1841     134 

HAVRE,  BY  NIGHT.     From  "  Meyer's  Universum  " 135 

WINDMILLS  OF  MONTMARTRE.     From  an  old  French  print   .     136 
HOTEL  DE  JUMIEGES.     Found,  verified  and  photographed  for 
this    Life    of    Cooper    by   kindness    of    Mrs.    T.    Henry 

Dewey   of    Paris,    France ".     137 

SIR  WALTER  SCOTT.     Portrait  by  G.  S.  Newton,  1824   ...     141 

Miss  ANNE  SCOTT.     Portrait  by  W.  Nicholson 141 

JAMES   FENIMORE   COOPER.     After   portrait   by    Madame    de 

Mirbel,   1830 143 

PIERRE  JEAN  DAVID  D'ANGERS.     Portrait  by  D' Aubrey.     By 

courtesy  of  General  George  T.   Cruft 144 

JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER.     From  a  photograph  of  the  bust 
by  David  d'Angers,  Paris,  1828.     By  permission  of  the 

owner,  James  Fenimore   Cooper,   Esq 145 

MRS.  JAMES   FENIMORE  COOPER.     From   a  photograph  of  a 
drawing  made  at  Paris,  1890.     By  permission  of  James 

Fenimore  Cooper,  Esq 147 

JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER.     From  a  photograph  of  a  draw 
ing  made  at  Paris,  1827.     By  permission  of  Mr.  George 

Pomeroy   Keese     148 

PROF.   GEORGE  WASHINGTON   GREEN.     By  special  permission 

of  Mr.  William  Dean  Howells  and  Harper  &  Brothers     150 

P.  T.  DE  BERANGER.    From  a  rare  old  print 151 

TALLEYRAND.     From  an  old  engraving 152 

DUCHESSE  DE  BERRi.     From   Soule  photograph 153 

CHARLES  X  OF  FRANCE.     From  Soule  photograph 153 

COOPER'S  SUMMER  HOME,   ST.  OUEN,  1827.     Found,  verified 
and   photographed   by   the   kindness   of   Mrs.   T.    Henry 

Dewey,  Paris,  France 155 

COOPER'S   ST.    OUEN   TERRACE   STUDY,     Found,   verified   and 
photographed  by  the  kindness  of  Mrs.  T.  Henry  Dewey, 

Paris,   France .    .    .    .     157 

OLD  MILL  AT  NEWPORT.     From  an  old  print 158 

THE  STRUGGLE.     By  F.  O.  C.  Darley 158 

THE  NEWPORT  Box.     By  permission  of  the  owner,  James 

Fenimore  Cooper,  Esq 1=9 

JOHN  GIBSON  LOCKHART.     By  Pickersgill 161 

NATTY'S  LAST  CALL.,  From  an  old  print 163 

THE  PRINCESS  BARBARA  VASSILIEWNA  GALITZIN.    From  print 

of  portrait  by  Hein.  Friedr.  Fiiger 165 

LA  GRANGE,  COUNTRY  HOME  OF  LAFAYETTE.     From  an  old 

print       167 

[   xvii   ] 


PAGE 

LA  GRANGE  ARCHWAY  ENTRANCE.  From  "  Complete  His 
tory  of  Lafayette,"  1825 167 

HOTEL  DESSEIN,  CALAIS,  FRANCE.    From  a  rare  old  print   .    .  169 

CLIFFS  OF  DOVER.     By  C.  Stantield 170 

CANTERBURY  CATHEDRAL  CHOIR.    From  Soule  photograph  .    .  171 

GREEX  GATE,  CANTERBURY.  From  Port  Folio,  1814  ....  172 
ST.  JAMES  PLACE,  LONDON.  From  Thornbury's  ''  Old  and 

New    London  " 173 

SIR  FRANCIS  CHANTREY.     From  European  Magazine,  1822  .  174 

SAMUEL  ROGERS.     Portrait  by  Thomas  Lawrence 174 

ROGERS'    LONDON    HOME.      From    "  Bonn's    Handbook    of 

London  "      175 

ROGERS'  BREAKFAST-ROOM.     From  Illustrated  London  News, 

i857        175 

CHARLES  ROBERT  LESLIE.     From  an  old  print 177 

SIR  JAMES  MACKINTOSH.     Portrait  by  Thomas  Lawrence   .  177 

HOLLAND  HOUSE.     By  Stockdale 177 

LIBRARY  OF  HOLLAND  HOUSE.  By  Charles  R.  Leslie.  Used 
by  permission  of  the  British  Museum.  From  left  to 
right,  portrait  of  Addison,  Lord  Holland,  Lady  Holland, 

Dr.  John  Allen,  Librarian  Doggett 178 

GILT  CHAMBER  OF   HOLLAND   HOUSE.     From   lithograph   by 

Richardson      179 

ROGERS'  SEAT.  From  Leichenstein's  "  Holland  House  "  .  .  180 

LORD  GREY.  From  a  portrait  by  Thomas  Lawrence  ....  181 
MRS.  JOHN  GIBSON  LOCK  HART.  From  a  portrait  by  W. 

Nicholson 181 

JOANNA  BAILLIE.  From  "Life  and  Works  of  J.  Baillie  "  .  182 

SIR  THOMAS  LAWRENCE.  From  the  Academy  sketch,  1829  .  182 
HOUSE  OF  THE  GILLMAN'S,  F!IGHGATE,  LONDON.  From  Hall's 

"  Book  of  Memories  " 183 

BOOM  KEY  AT  ROTTERDAM.  From  an  old  etching  .....  184 

Mr.  BLANC.  By  J.  M.  W.  Turner 187 

LA  LORRAINE  VIEW  OF  BERNESE  ALPS.  From  Swiss  print  .  188 
NAHL'S  MEMORIAL  TO  MADAME  LANGHAN*.  From  European 

Magazine,  1786  189 

NARRA-MATTAH.  By  F.  O.  C.  Darley .  190 

CONNECTICUT  EMIGRANTS.  From  an  old  print 191 

FALL  OF  THE  STAUBBACH.  From  an  old  water  color  ....  192 

THE  DEVIL'S  BRIDGE.  By  W.  H.  Bartlett,  1836 194 

FERNEY,  VOLTAIRE'S  LAKE  LEMAN  HOME.  From  European 

Magazine,    1786 195 

[   xviii    ] 


PAGE 

THE  SIMPLON  PASS.     By  Lory 196 

FLORENCE,  ITALY.    From  an  old  print 196 

PALAZZO   RICASOLI,   FLORENCE,   ITALY.     From   special   draw 
ing   by    G.    Amightti.      By    courtesy   of    Signer   Agusto 

Ticci,  Florence 197 

HORATIO  GREENOUGH.     From  portrait  in  Boston  Athenaeum. 

By  courtesy  of  Mr.  Charles  K.  Bolton,  Librarian   .    .    .  199 
BUST  OF  JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER.     By  Horatio  Greenough, 
in  Boston  Public  Library.     By  courtesy  of  the  Librarian, 
Mr.   Horace   G.   Wadlin,   and  photographed  by   Arthur 

Pierce  Truette 200 

CHANTING  CHERUBS.     Detail   from  Raphael's  Madonna  del 

Trono        201 

LEOPOLD  II,  GRAND  DUKE  OF  TUSCANY.    From  Ballou's  "  Pic 
torial,"  Vol.  XVII 202 

PITTI  PALACE,  FLORENCE,  1828.     From  water  color,  1830   .    .  202 
COUNT  ST.  LEU.     From  "  La  Jeunesse  de  Napoleon  III,"  by 

Stefane-Pol 204 

LETIZIA  BOUNAPARTE.     From  color  print  by  de  Delpech   .    .  205 
MADAME  MERE.     From  print  of  drawing  by  Princess  Char 
lotte,  in  Vol.  XX,  U  Illustration 205 

CHURCH  OF  ST.  ILLARIO  AND  NARROW  LANE.     From  photo 
graph  obtained  by  Sig.  Agusto  Ticci,  Florence,  Italy  .    .  207 
VILLA,  ST.   ILLARIO.     From  special  photograph  obtained  by 

Mrs.  T.   Henry  Dewey,   Paris,   France 207 

CHARIOT  RACES,  FLORENCE.     From  an  old  print 208 

GENOA.     By  Vocher 209 

LEGHORN.     From  an  old  etching 211 

NAPLES.     From  an  old  water  color 213 

CASA  TASSO  AT  SORRENTO.    From  "  Vita  di  Torqnato  Tasso" 

by    Angelo    Solerti 214 

CASA    TASSO    TERRACE-STUDY.      From    '•'  Vita    di    Torqnato 

Tasso,"  by  Angelo  Solerti 215 

ST.  PETER'S,  EXTERIOR,  ROME.     From  an  old  print 217 

ST.   PETER'S,  INTERIOR.     From  an  old  print 217 

ADAM  MICKIEOWICZ.     From  the  "  Life  of  the  Poet"   ...  218 

PORTA  RIPETTA.     From  an  old  etching 219 

ROMAN   FORUM.      By   Sargent 220 

PORTA  DEL  POPOLO.     From  an  old  print 221 

FALLS  OF  MARMORA  AT  TERNI.     From  an  old  print 221 

ANCONA.     By   S.    Prout 222 

LORETO.     From  an  old  print 222 


PAGE 

SCALLA  MINELLI,  VENICE.     From  an  old  print 223 

VENICE.     By  J.   B.   Pyne 224 

PIAZZA  SAN  MARCO.    By  Chilonc 225 

PALACE  OF  THE  DOGE.     From  an  old  print 226 

TASSO'S  WELL.     Special  photograph  by  Marjorie  Elizabeth 

Parks        227 

THE  BRAVO.     By  F.  O.  C.  Darley 229 

GLORY  OF  THE  ASSUMPTION.     By  Titian 230 

ABSOLUTION  OF  ANTONIO.     By  F.  O.  C.  Darley 230 

ALT  MARKET,  DRESDEN.     From   1830  print  by  permission  of 
owner,  Mayor  of  Dresden,  and  courtesy  of  Herr  Rudolf 

Drescher,  Hanau-on-Main,  Germany 231 

LAFAYETTE'S  PARIS  HOME,  RTK  n'Axjou.     From  special  pho 
tograph    obtained    by    Mrs.    T.    Henry    Dewey,    Paris, 

France       233 

LAFAYETTE'S     BED-ROOM.       From    ''  Complete     History     of 

Lafayette,"    1825 234 

Louis  PHILIPPE.     From  "  Galerie  Napoleon" 235 

GENERAL  LAFAYETTE.     From  lithograph  by  Delpech    ....     235 

QUEEN  MARIE  AMELIE.     From  an  old  print 236 

S.    F.    B.    MORSE.      From    L'lllustration,   Vols.    XXXI    and 

XXXTI      239 

N.  P.  WILLIS.     By  S.  Lawrence 239 

TUILERIES  GARDENS.     From  an  old  print 239 

TENIER'S  WIFE.     Portrait  by  Tenier.     From  photograph  of 
original  by  permission   of  the  owner,  James  Fenimore 

Cooper,    Esq 240 

MRS.  JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER  AND  HER  SON  PAUL.  From 
a  photograph  of  a  painting  done  at  Paris,  1831.  By 
permission  of  owner,  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  Esq  .  .  241 
THE  CHILDREN  OF  MR.  AND  MRS.  JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER. 
From  a  photograph  (given  by  Mr.  George  Pomcroy 
Keese)  of  a  drawing  made  in  Paris  by  Miss  Susan 
Cooper.  By  permission  of  owner,  James  Fenimore 
Cooper,  Esq.  From  left  to  right,  Caroline  Martha  (Mrs. 
H.  F.  Phinney),  Susan  Augusta,  Paul  Fenimore,  Anne 
Charlotte,  Maria  Frances  (Mrs.  Richard  Cooper)  .  .  .  242 

THE  ANGELUS.     By  J.  F.  Millet 244 

EUGENE-JOSEPH    VERROECKHOVEN.     From    a    print 246 

PETER  PAUL  RUBENS.     Portrait  by  the  artist 248 

RUBENS'    COLOGNE    HOME.      From    Fairholt's    "  Homes    and 

Haunts    of    Artists  " 248 

CONVENT  OF  NUNNENWORTH.     By  Tombleson 249 


PAGE 

WATCH  TOWER  ON  THE  RHINE.    From  The  Art  Journal,  1880    251 

HEIDELBERG  AND  CASTLE.    From  1840  print 254 

VEVEY  SHORES  OF  LAKE  LEMAN.  From  New  England  Maga 
zine  255 

FETE  DES  VIGNERONS.  By  courtesy  of  Mrs.  Rufus  A.  King- 
man  256 

NOAH'S  ARK.     VEVEY,  1833.     By  courtesy  of  Mrs.  Rufus  A. 

Kingman       257 

HOSPICE  ST.   BERNARD.     By  Major  Cockburn 258 

BAY  OF  NAPLES.     By  James  Hakywill 260 

NEW  YORK  HARBOR.     By  W.  H.  Bartlett 261 

COOPER'S  OTSEGO  HALL  HOME.     By  courtesy  of  Mr.  George 

Pomeroy    Keese 261 

COPY  OF  COOPER'S  GARDEN  SEAT.     From  photograph  by  A.  J. 

Telfer        263 

COOPER'S  LIBRARY  AT  OTSEGO  HALL.     From  drawing  by  Mr. 

George  Pomeroy  Keese 263 

JUDGE  NELSON.    From  photograph  by  A.  J.  Telfer 266 

WILD  ROSE  POINT  OR  THREE-MILE  POINT.     From  a  photo 
graph  by  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  George  Pomeroy  Keese   .     271 
COOPER'S  NEW  YORK  CITY  HOME,  ST.  MARK'S  PLACE.     From 
a  print  by  the  courtesy  of  owner,  General  James  Grant 

Wilson       272 

HORACE  GREELEY.     From  a  portrait  by  J.  C.  Buttre   ....     275 
PARK  BENJAMIN.     From  a  portrait  by  J.  C.  Buttre   ....     275 

THURLOW  WEED.     From  a  portrait  by  C.  B.  Hall 275 

JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER.     From  a  daguerreotype  by  Brady. 

By  permission  of  owner,  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  Esq.     279 
COLONEL  JOHN   TRUMBULL.     From   portrait  by  Waldo   and 

Jewett        280 

CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.     From  a   Paris  print 281 

COLUMBUS'  FLEET.     From  an  old  print 281 

THE  GLIMMERGLASS.     From  photograph  by  courtesy  of  Mr. 

George  Pomeroy  Keese 283 

LEATHERSTOCKING  FALLS.     From  photograph  by  A.  J.  Telfer, 

Cooperstown,  N.  Y 285 

NATTY  BUMPO'S  CAVE.     From  photograph  by  A.  J.  Telfer, 

Cooperstown,  N.  Y 285 

JESSE  D.  ELLIOTT'S  LAKE  ERIE  MEDAL.  From  Spear's  "  His 
tory  of  the  United  States  Navy  " 289 

MEDAL  GIVEN  TO  JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER  BY  JESSE  D. 
ELLIOTT.  From  photograph  by  the  courtesy  of  Mr. 
George  Pomeroy  Keese  289 


PAGE 

ISLAND  OF  ELBA.     From  an  old  print 291 

ELBA  HOME  OF  NAPOLEON.     From  Abbott's  "  Napoleon  "   .    .     292 
BATTLE  OF  LAKE  ERIE.    From  painting  by  W.  H.  Powell     .    .     293 

COOPER'S  DIAGRAM  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  LAKE  ERIE 294 

COOPER'S  DIAGRAM  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  "  BON  HOMMF.  RICH 
ARD  "  AND  THE  <%  SERAPIS  " 294 

BATTLE  OF  THE  "  BON  HOMME  RICHARD  "  AND  THE  "  SERAPIS." 

By  J.  Rogers      295 

STUMP  EXTRACTOR.     From  "  The  Hudson,"  by  B.  J.  Lossing    296 
THE  CHALET  FARM.     From  photograph  by  the  courtesy  of 

Mr.  George  Pomeroy  Keese 297 

THE  ESCAPE.    From  "  Wyandotte."    By  F.  O.  C.  Darley   .    .     299 
Miss  CAROLINE  ADRIANCE  FOOTE,  AGE  13.   From  a  daguerreo 
type  by  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  George  Pomeroy  Keese   .    .     301 
Miss  ALICE  TRUMBULL  WORTHINGTON.     From  a  daguerreo 
type  by  the  courtesy  of  owner,  Mrs.  Alice  Worthington 

Synnott 303 

LIEUT.  ALEXANDER  SLIDELL  MACKENZIE.     From  Duyckwick's 

"  Cyclopedia  of  American  Literature  " 306 

HELL  GATE.    From  "  Pages  and  Pictures,"  by  Susan  Augusta 

Cooper       307 

NIAGARA  FALLS.     By  W.  H.  Bartlett 310 

JUDGE  BAZIL  HARRISON  OF  KALAMAZOO,  MICHIGAN.     From 

Hearth   and   Home,    1870 313 

HON.  GERRIT  SMITH.     From  an  old  print 317 

WILLIAM    BRANDFORD    SHUBRICK.      From    Lossing's   "  Field- 

Book  of  the  War  of  1812,"  1868 319 

CHARLES  MATHEWS.    From  "  Memorials  of  Charles  Mathew  " 

by  Mrs.  Mathews 321 

JAMES  H.  HACKETT.     From  ''  Modern  Standard  Drama  "   .     321 

STEWART'S  MARBLE  PALACE.     From  an  old  print 324 

Miss  SUSAN  AUGUSTA  COOPER,  ABOUT  1850.  From  a  daguer 
reotype.  By  permission  of  the  owner,  James  Fenimore 

Cooper,    Esq 325 

OTSEGO  LAKE  PARTY  IN  1840.    By  J.  L.  Pease 326 

JOE   TOM.      From    a    photograph    by    the    courtesy    of    Mr. 

George    Pomeroy   Keese       329 

NATTY'S  CAVTE.     From  an  old  print 329 

OTSEGO  HALL  —  BACK  VIEW.     From  "Pages  and  Pictures," 

by  Susan  Augusta  Cooper 331 

JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER.  From  a  daguerreotype  by  Brady. 
By  permission  of  the  owner,  James  Fenimore  Cooper, 
Esq.,  Albany,  N.  Y ,  .  333 

[   xxii   ] 


THE  SWEDISH  NIGHTINGALE  (JENNY  LIND).  Portrait  by 

J.  W.  Orr.  From  Soule  photograph 334 

JENNY  LIND  AT  CASTLE  GARDEN,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  1850. 

From  an  old  print .  335 

DR.  JOHN  WAKEFIELD  FRANCIS.     From  portrait  by  J.  Gold- 

bruam       337 

DR.  FRANCIS'  HOME  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY.     By  Richardson   .     337 
CHRIST'S  CHURCH,  COOPERSTOWN,  N.  Y.    From  a  photograph 

by  A.  J.  Telfer          .341 

FENIMORE  COOPER'S  SCREEN  GIFT.     From  a  print  by  courtesy 

of  Miss  Alice   Bailey  Keese 342 

BISHOP  WILLIAM   HEATHCOTE  DE  LANCEY.     From   Scharf's 

"  History  of  Westchester  County,  N.  Y." 344 

DE  LANCEY  COAT  OF  ARMS..  From  "A  God-Child  of  Wash 
ington,"  by  Katherine  Schuyler  Baxter 345 

THE  NEW  HOME  AND  THE  OLD  HOME 346 

INDIAN  HUNTER.     By  J.  Q.  A.  Ward 347 

COOPER  GROUNDS.     From  a  photograph  by  A.  J.  Telfer   .    .     348 
THE   CHILDREN'S   TRIBUTE.     From   a   photograph   by   A    J 

Telfer        352 

LAKE  OTSEGO.     From  a  photograph  by  A.  J.  Telfer  ....     354 
LEATHERSTOCKING   FIGURE   OF   COOPER  MEMORIAL.      From   a 

photograph  by  A.  J.   Telfer 3-5 

LEATHERSTOCKING   MONUMENT.      By   R.    E.    Launitz,    N.    A. 

From  a  photograph  by  A.  J.  Telfer .     356 

GEORGE  POMEROY  KEESE.     From  a  photograph  by  permission 

of  Mrs.  George  Pomeroy  Keese 358 

BERRY  POMEROY  CASTLE.     By  courtesy  of  Mr.  George  Pom 
eroy  Keese 360 


Acknowledgment  is  clue  The  F.  A.  Ringler 
Company  of  New  York  City  and  Messrs.  John 
Andrew  and  Son  of  Boston,  Mass.,  for  the  care 
and  interest  they  have  shown  in  making  the  cuts 
used  in  this  volume. 


[  xxiii   ] 


THE  ENGLISH  FYNAMORE  COUNTRY  AND  FAMILY  ARMS. 


JAMES     FENIMORE     COOPER 


COOPER'S  BIRTHPLACE,  BURLINGTON,  N.  J. 

1  HE  light  of  this  world  fell  on  James  Fenimore 
Cooper  September  15,  1/89.  The  founder  of 
American  romance  was  born  in  a  quaint,  two- 
storied  house  of  stuccoed  brick  which  now  num 
bers  457  Main  St.,  Burlington,  New  Jersey.  It 
was  then  "  the  last  house  but  one  as  you  go  into 
the  country  "  and  among  the  best  of  the  town. 
In  a  like  house  next  door  lived  the  father  of  the 
naval  hero,  Capt.  James  Lawrence.  These  two 
houses  opened  directly  on  the  street  and  their 
slanting  roofs  were  shaded  by  tall  trees  rooted 
at  the  curbstones.  This  outline  of  Fenimore 


Cooper's  birthplace  is  from  the  text-picture  in 
"  Literary  Rambles,"  by  Theodore  F.  Wolfe, 
M.D.,  PH.D.  The  first  of  his  father's  family  in 
this  new  country  was  James  Cooper,  who  came 
from  Stratford-on-Avon,  England,  in  1679.  He 
and  his  wife  were  Quakers,  and  with  Quaker 
thrift  bought  wide  tracts  of  land  in  New  Jersey 
and  Pennsylvania.  Seventy-five  years  after  James 
Cooper  stepped  on  American  soil  his  great- 
grandson  William  was  born,  December  2,  1754, 
in  Byberry  township,  Pennsylvania. 

On  December  12,  1775,  at  Burlington,  New 
Jersey,  William  Cooper  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Richard  Fenimore,  whose  family 
came  from  Oxfordshire  of  Old  England,  and, 
at  intervals,  held  office  in  her  provinces.  James, 
the  future  author  and  named  for  his  grand 
father  Cooper,  was  the  eleventh  of  twelve 
children.  About  1807  Cooper,  by  request  of 
his  mother,  said  he  would  adopt  the  name  of 
Fenimore  as  there  were  no  men  of  her  family 
to  continue  it.  The  change  was  delayed  by 
the  untimely  death  of  Judge  Cooper,  and  also 
to  make  less  difficult  the  settlement  of  his 
large  estate.  But  in  1826  James  Cooper  applied 
to  the  legislature  for  his  change  of  name  to 


James  Cooper  Fenimore.  This  request  was  not 
granted,  but  the  change  to  "James  Fenimore 
Cooper "  was  made.  Cooper's  comment  on 
this  outcome  is  a  graphic  record  and  "  sug 
gests/'  says  an  authority,  that  "  the  legisla 
ture  would  do  \vell  to  assume  that  a  petitioner, 


THE  FENIMORE  Box. 

in  such  a  case,  knew  better  than  they  did  what 
he  wanted."  The  hyphen,  at  first  used,  was 
soon  dropped.  And  so  it  was  for  his  mother's 
sake  that  he  made  world-wide  his  fame  by  the 
name  of  James  Fenimore  Cooper. 

'  The  Fenimore  Box  "  is  an  "  English  measure 
box,  curious,  and  centuries  old,  brought  over  by 
the  first  of  the  name."  It  descended  to  Cooper 
from  his  mother,  Elizabeth  Fenimore,  and  is 
now  treasured  as  a  family  heirloom  by  his  grand- 

[  3  ] 


son,  James   Fenimore   Cooper  of  Albany,   New 
York. 

As  the  first  James  Cooper  and  his  wife  were 
Quakers,  perchance  the  same  Quaker  thrift  in- 


THE   SUSQUEHANNA. 

fluenced  William  Cooper  to  follow  the  lead  of 
George  Washington,  who,  two  years  before,  in 
order  to  find  out  the  inland  waterways  of  our 
country,  came  from  the  Mohawk  Valley  to  the 
headwaters  of  the  Susquehanna  —  this  stream 
which  Fenimore  Cooper  called  "  the  crooked 
river  to  which  the  Atlantic  herself  extended  an 
arm  of  welcome."  Lake  Otsego  —  the  "  Glim- 
merglass  "  -  -  William  Cooper  saw  first  in  the 
autumn  of  1785.  "  Mt.  Vision"  was  covered 
with  a  forest  growth  so  dense  that  he  had  to 

[  4  ] 


"  climb  a  tree  in  order  to  get  a  view  of  the  lake, 
and  while  up  the  tree "  he  saw  a  deer  come 
down  "  from  the  thickets  and  quietly  drink  of 
its  waters  near  Otsego  Rock."  "  Just  where  the 


CHINGACHGOOK  ON  COUNCIL  ROCK. 

Susquehanna  leaves  the  Lake  on  its  long  jour 
ney  to  the  sea  "  this  famous  Council  Rock  "  still 
shows  its  chin  above  the  water  and  marks  the 
spot  where  Deerslayer  met  Chingachgook  the 
Great  Serpent  of  the  Delawares."  Now  "  its 
lake  margin  belongs  to  a  grandson  of  the  au 
thor,  who  also  bears  his  name,"  is  a  record  found 
in  Dr.  Wolfe's  "  Literary  Haunts  and  Homes/' 
In  the  red  man's  tongue  Otsego  means  "  a  place 
of  friendly  meeting  "  of  Indian  warriors.  The 
author  of  "  Deerslayer  "  has  immortalized  that 

[  5  1 


lake-country  in  the  opening  chapter  of  this  book. 
Of  this  visit  to  his  future  home'  and  lands  Wil 
liam  Cooper  has  written:  "  In  1785  I  visited 
the  rough  and  hilly  country  of  Otsego.  I  was 
alone,  three  hundred  miles  from  home,  without 
food  of  any  kind.  I  caught  trout  in  the  brook 
and  roasted  them  in  the  ashes.  My  horse  fed 
on  the  grass  that  grew  by  the  edge  of  the 
waters.  I  laid  me  down  to  sleep  in  my  watch- 
coat,  nothing  but  the  wilderness  about  me.  In 
this  way  I  explored,  the  country  and  formed  my 
plans  of  future  settlement.  May,  1786,  I  opened 
a  sale  of  forty  thousand  acres  of  land,  which 
in  sixteen  days  were  all  taken  up  by  the  poorest 
order  of  men."  Here  William  Cooper  laid  out 


COUNCIL  ROCK. 
[  6  ] 


the  site  of  Cooper stown,  which,  until  1791,  when 
it  became  the  county-town,  was  at  times  also 
called  "  Foot-of-the-Lake/1  He  built  a  store  for 
his  sturdy  pioneers,  giving  credit  for  their  simple 
needs  of  life,  and  traded  settlement  products  for 
them.  His  tenants  put  up  log  houses,  and  paid 
rent  in  butter,  wheat,  corn,  oats,  maple-sugar, 
and  finally  in  pork;  —  so  much  that  rental^ 
known  as  "  pork  leases  "  were  sold  like  farms. 
Money  was  scarce  in  those  days,  --  when  one 
John  Miller,  and  his  father,  coming  to  the  Lake 
land's  point  of  the  river,  felled  a  pine,  over 
which  they  crossed  to  the  Cooperstown  site.  Its 
stump  was  marked  with  white  paint  and  called 
the  "  bridge-tree  "  by  Fenimore  Cooper.  His 
sister  Nancy's  grandson,  Mr.  George  Pomeroy 
Keese,  from  whom  much  will  appear  in 
these  pages,  has  all  there  is  left  of  that 
stump. 

In  a  few  years  the  town's  growth  gave  such 
promise  that  William  Cooper  began  to  build  his 
own  home.  It  was  generally  known  as  "  The 
Manor,"  but  the  patent  of  Cooperstown  was  not 
according  to  law  a  manor.  It  was  finished  in  1788, 
when  a  few  streets  were  laid  out  and  the  town's 
first  map  was  made.  And  October  10,  1790, 

[  7  ] 


he  brought  his  family  and  servants,  some  fifteen 
persons,  and  their  belongings,  from  Burlington, 
New  Jersey,  to  this  early  pioneer  home.  Mr. 
Keese  says  that  u  The  Manor  "  was  of  wood 
with  outside  boarding,  unplaned ;  that  it  was  twro 
stories  high,  had  two  wings  and  a  back  building 
added  in  1791.  It  first  stood  facing  Main  St.  and 
Otsego  Lake  and  directly  in  front  of  the  later 
Otsego  Hall,  now  marked  by  the  Indian  Hunter. 
In  1/99  ^  was  moved  down  the  street,  and  was 
burned  down  in  1812.  In  its  time  it  was  the 
most  stately  private  house  for  miles  around.  The 
second  home,  Otsego  Hall,  built  in  1798,  was  of 
bricks  which  were  made  at  the  outlet  of  the 
lake.  It  had  seventy  feet  of  frontage  by  fifty- 
six  of  depth,  and  had  two  stories  with  attic  and 
basement.  The  main  hall  measured  twenty-four 
by  forty-eight  feet  and  the  rooms  on  either  side 
were  twenty  feet  wide.  Otsego  Hall  is  said  to 
have  been  of  the  exact,  generous  proportions  of 
the  Van  Rensselaer  Manor  House  at  Albany, 
Xew  York,  where  Judge  Cooper  was  a  frequent 
visitor.  His  own  Hall  home  on  Otsego's  south 
ern  shore  ever  had  "  the  air  and  capacity  of 
a  mansion  and  a  history  of  hospitality  well 
deserved." 

[  8  ] 


THE  MANOR  HOUSE. 


THE  ORIGINAL  OTSEGO  HALL. 


To  a  friend  William  Cooper  wrote:  "  I  began 
life  with  a  small  capital  and  a  large  family,  and 
yet  I  have  already  settled  more  acres  than  any 
man  in  America;  and  I  trust  no  one  can  justly 
impute  to  me  any  act  of  oppression.  Your  good 
sense  and  knowledge  will  excuse  this  seeming 
boast."  He  elsewhere  said  that  he  owed  his 
success  to  "  a  steady  mind,  a  sober  judgment, 
fortitude,  perseverance,  and  above  all,  common 
sense."  And  here  he  lived  as  a  wise  and  kind 
landlord  among  his  people.  For  nine  years  he 
was  First  Judge  of  the  County  Court  of  Com 
mon  Pleas,  and  he  served  two  terms  in  Congress. 
Of  Judge  William  Cooper  there  are  three  por 
traits, —  Gilbert  Stuart's  of  1797-98,  Trumbull's 
of  1806,  and  one  by  an  unknown  artist.  His 
kindly  gray  eye,  robust  figure,  and  firm  expres 
sion  bear  out  the  story  of  his  life  as  told  by  these 
portraits. 

James  Fenimore  Cooper,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife, 
dated  Canajoharie,  1834,  wrote  of  his  father: 
:'  I  have  been  up  to  the  ravine  to  the  old  Frey 
house.  It  recalled  my  noble-looking,  warm 
hearted,  witty  father,  with  his  deep  laugh,  sweet 
voice,  and  fine,  rich  eye,  as  he  used  to  light  the 
way  with  his  anecdotes  and  fun.  Old  Frey,  with 


his  little  black  peepers,  pipe,  hearty  laugh,  broken 
English,  and  warm  welcome,  was  in  the  back 
ground.  I  went  to  the  very  spot  where  one  of 
the  old  man's  slaves  amused  Sam  and  myself 
with  an  imitation  of  a  turkey  that  no  artist  has 
ever  yet  been  able  to  supplant  in  my  memory." 
This  Heindrick  Frey  was  a  noted  character  of 
the  Mohawk  Valley  over  one  hundred  years  ago. 
It  was,  however,  to  the  first  home  on  Otsego's 
shore  that  the  future  creator  of  American 
romance  was  brought  when  a  babe  some  thir 
teen  months  old.  Here,  in  the  heart  of  the 
wilderness,  his  infancy  was  passed.  Otsego  Hall 
sheltered  his  budding  boyhood  and  young  man 
hood.  Grace  and  refinement  dwelt  within  the 
household;  without,  voices  of  the  forest  awak 
ened  and  nurtured  his  naturally  active  mind, 
which  later  on  was  not  less  influenced  by  the 
mysteries  of  the  sea.  The  Six  Nations  were 
yet  a  power  in  the  Mohawk  Valley,  then  the 
highway  to  the  land  of  the  setting  sun  beyond. 
And  they  are  now  remembered  in  the  names  of 
the  principal  lakes  and  streams  of  the  country 
that  once  was  theirs.  The  boy  was  face-to-face 
with  the  "  grim  warriors,  braves,  and  chieftains 
that  the  man,  Fenimore  Cooper,  translated  into 


his  pages,  with  a  touch  true  to  the  red  man's 
life,"  his  instinct  in  trading,  his  friendly  and 
hostile  intent.  Here  Nature  was  his  first  and 
unforgettable  teacher.  From  "  Pages  and  Pic 
tures,"  by  his  daughter,  Susan  Fenimore  Cooper, 
much  will  be  given  in  this  book.  Miss  Cooper 
has  drawn  some  pretty  pen-pictures  of  her 
father's  child-life.  She  writes :  "  From  the  first 
bow  and  arrow,  kite  and  ball,  to  later  feats  in 
fishing,  riding,  shooting,  and  skating,  all  were 
connected  with  his  highland  home."  He  was 
"  healthy  and  active ;  a  brave,  blithe-hearted, 
impetuous,  most  generous  and  upright  boy." 
Of  his  childhood  another  record  is :  "  A  gray- 
eyed,  light-haired,  ruddy  boy,  nimble  as  a  deer 
and  gay  as  a  bird;  on  the  lake,  plying  his  oar 
lustily  or  trimming  his  sail  to  the  mountain 
breeze;  and  whenever  he  found  a  wave  high 
enough  to  lift  his  little  boat,  his  veins  would 
thrill  with  a  strange  delight,  and  he  would  ask 
himself  whether  this  was  like  those  ocean  waves 
of  which  he  had  heard  such  wonders."  The  little 
lad's  next  step  in  learning  was  taken  under  the 
gentle  rule  of  his  elder  sister,  Hannah,  who  had 
her  schooling  in  New  York  City,  and  afterwards 
improved  her  leisure  by  extensive  reading.  She 

[  13  1 


was  a  model  of  domestic  virtues  and  was  greatly 
beloved,  especially  by  the  poor,  to  whom  she  was 


ever  an  angel  of  mercy.  She  often  went  with 
her  father  on  his  official  visits  to  the  seat  of 
government,  and  when,  in  1800,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-three  years,  she  lost  her  life  by  a  fall 
from  her  horse,  her  early  death  was  widely 
and  deeply  mourned.  Her  memory  was  al 
ways  cherished  with  peculiar  tenderness  by  her 
brother  James,  the  special  charge  of  her  loving 
care. 

[  14  ] 


A  letter,  written  by  him  in  1841  to  his  old 
"  messmate,"  Commodore  Shubrick,  reveals  no 
wane  of  Cooper's  love  for  and  pride  in  this  sister, 
and  his  letter's  "  political  discovery  "  reveals  that 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON,  1800. 

Miss  Cooper's  attractions  were  as  fully  appre 
ciated  by  the  eminent  of  her  own  country  as  by 
those  of  foreign  shores.  So  comes  into  these 
pages  a  youthful,  slender  romance  of  the  later 
hero  of  Tippecanoe  and  still  later  President  of 
the  United  States. 

OTSEGO  HALL,  COOPERSTOWN, 
February,  28,  1841. 

I  have  made  a  great  political  discovery  lately,  which 
must  not  go  any  further  than  Mrs.  Shubrick  and  Mary. 
In  1799,  when  Congress  sat  in  Philadelphia,  my  father 
was  a  member,  as  \vas  also  General  Harrison.  You 
know  I  had  a  sister  killed  by  a  fall  from  a  horse  in 

t  is  i 


i8oo.  This  sister  passed  the  Winter  in  Philadelphia 
with  my  father.  Miss  Anne  Cooper  [the  author's 
daughter]  was  lately  in  Philadelphia,  where  she  met 
Mr.  Thomas  Biddle,  who  asked  if  our  family  were 
not  Harrison  men.  The  reason  of  so  singular  a  ques 
tion  was  asked,  and  Mr.  Biddle  answered  that  in  1799 
Mr.  Harrison  was  dying  with  love  for  Miss  Cooper, 
that  he  (Mr.  Biddle)  was  his  confidant,  and  that  he 
thinks  but  does  not  know  that  he  was  refused.  If  not 
refused  it  was  because  he  was  not  encouraged  to  pro 
pose,  so  you  see  I  stand  on  high  grounds  and  am  ready 
to  serve  you  on  occasion.  Don't  let  this  go  any  further, 
however.  I  confess  to  think  all  the  better  of  the  Gen 
eral  for  this  discovery,  for  it  shows  that  he  had  forty 
years  ago  both  taste  and  judgment  in  a  matter  in  which 
men  so  often  fail.  Mary  will  open  her  eyes  at  this 
somewhat  wider  than  ever,  but  she  must  not  open  her 
mouth  until  she  gives  her  allegiance  to  him  who  will 
know  all  her  thoughts.  With  best  regards 
Yours  as  ever, 

].  FENIMORE  COOPER. 

NOTE.  —  Later  light  on  the  subject  reveals  Mr.  Harri 
son's  "  dying  of  love  "  as  a  hearty  admiration  and  es 
teem  for  the  rare  grace  and  charm  of  character,  mind, 
and  person  possessed  by  Judge  Cooper's  young  daughter. 

During  1795  many  distinguished  exiles  came 
to  this  new-country  home,  and  among  those  who 
found  their  way  to  Otsego  Hall  was  the  Mar 
quis  de  Talleyrand,  who  was  pleased  to  write  an 

[  16  ] 


TALLEYRAND. 

acrostic  on  Miss  Cooper,  then  seventeen.  The 
famous  Frenchman's  record,  in  part,  of  this  visit 
was  "  Otsego  n'cst  pas  gai."  Compared  to  the 
France  of  Talleyrand's  day  this  record  was 
true.  The  Otsego  Herald's  motto  of  that  time 
was 

Historic  truth  our  Herald  shall  proclaim, 
The  Law  our  guide,  the  public  good  our  aim. 
[   17  ] 


In  its  issue  of  October  2,  1795,  appeared  the 
celebrated  diplomat's  Acrostic. 

Aimable  philosophic  an  printemps  de  son  age, 
Ni  les  temps,  ni  les  liens  n'alterent  son  esprit; 
Ne  ceclent  qiT  a  ses  gouts  simples  et  son  etalage, 
Au  milieu  des  deserts,  elle  lit,  pense,  ecrit. 

Cnltivez,  belle  Anna,  votre  gout  pour  1'etude; 
On  ne  sanrait  ici  mieux  employer  son  temps ; 
Otsego  n'est  pas  gai  —  mais,  tout  est  habitude ; 
Paris  vous  deplairait  fort  au  premier  moment; 
Et  qui  jouit  de  soi  dans  une  solitude, 
Rentrant  au  monde,  est  stir  d'en  faire  Tornement. 

In  affectionate  remembrance  of  Miss  Cooper 
the  hill  just  northwest  of  Cooperstown  was 
named  for  her,  and  "  Hannah's  Hill "  com 
mands  one  of  the  town's  finest  views.  In  the 
quiet  shades  of  Christ's  Church  yard  "  belle 
Anna  "  rests  beneath  a  slab  bearing"  some  lines 

o 

by  her  father,  but  not  her  name. 

The  August  before  this  sad  event  Judge 
Cooper  gave  the  first  of  the  many  "  lake  par 
ties  "  that  floated  over  Otsego  — "  which  no 
waters  can  rival."  In  the  fairness  of  her  youth 
Miss  Hannah  was  there  with  her  little  sister, 
later  Mrs.  Pomeroy;  and  also,  among  the 
'[  18  ] 


gay  "  five  and  twenty  friends  from  Philadelphia/' 
were  their  brothers.  Indian  canoes  and  flat- 
bottomed  skiffs  conveyed  them  to  the  eastern 
shore,  where,  at  Two-Mile  Point,  a  frightened 
fawn,  startled  from  its  forest  home  by  the  dogs 
of  Shipman  the  hunter,  --who  later  outlined 
"  Leatherstocking,"  -  darted  from  the  leafy 
thicket  and  plunged  into  the  lake.  At  once 
all  were  in  motion  to  rescue  the  little  creature 
now  swimming  for  life.  It  was  successfully 
brought  to  land  and  became  a  great  pet 
with  Judge  Cooper's  children;  but  one  day, 
frightened  by  strange,  fierce  dogs,  it  bounded 
into  the  forest  depths  for  refuge,  and  never 
returned. 

The  centennial  anniversary  of  this  first  picnic 
was  celebrated  by  the  third  and  fourth  genera 
tion  of  Judge  Cooper's  descendants,  who  met  at 
Point  Judith  to  honor  the  occasion.  Of  the  verses 
written  by  Mr.  George  Pomeroy  Keese  concern 
ing  this  event  two  are: 

And  one  hundred  years  have  come  and  gone 

Since  our  country  then  was  new, 
And  now  we  keep  in  memory  dear 

Our  love  for  the  good  and  true. 


1  19 


POINT  JUDITH. 

To  one  who  came  to  his  forest  home 
And  gave  to  our  village  its  name ; 

To  the  son,  the  touch  of  whose  magic  pen 
Has  lifted  to  world-wide  fame. 

In  this  summer  of  1800  Richard,  Judge 
Cooper's  eldest  son,  built  his  house  of  frame 
on  "  Apple  Hill."  It  was  the  second  villa-like 
home  in  the  village.  Its  site,  now  known  as 
"  Fernleigh,"  is  the  country-seat  of  Stephen 
Clark,  Esq.  "  Edgewater,"  overlooking  Lake 
Otsego,  is  the  land  that,  after  Judge  Cooper's 
death  in  1809,  fell  to  his  son  Isaac.  Here,  the 
following  year,  Isaac  Cooper  built  his  home 
of  brick.  Later,  it  changed  in  form,  use,  and 

[    23    ] 


"  EDGEWATER." 

ownership,  but  again  became  a  family  possession 
through  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Theodore  Keese 
with  the  daughter  of  George  Pomeroy  and  Ann 
Cooper.  Renewing  in  all  ways  the  charm  and 
grace  of  its  early  days,  ft  Edgewater,"  as  the 
home  of  Mr.  George  Pomeroy  Keese,  the  grand 
son  of  Fenimore  Cooper's  youngest  sister  Ann, 
commands  at  the  foot  of  the  lake  its  length, 
breadth,  beauty,  and  inspiration. 

The  old  stone  house,  known  as  the  "  Deacon 
Pomeroy's  place,"  that  stood  at  the  corner  of 
Main  and  River  streets,  gives  —  in  a  quaint  gable 
—  an  enduring  record  of  romance  in  this  sister 

[    21    ] 


MR.  AND  MRS.  GEORGE  POMEROY. 

Ann's  young  life.  It  was  built  of  stone  in  the 
peculiar  herring-bone  style  by  Judge  William 
Cooper  for  a  wedding  gift  to  his  only  living 
daughter,  Ann,  when  she  married  George  Pome- 
roy,  grandson  of  Gen.  Seth  Pomeroy  and  lineal 
descendant  of  that  Sir  Ralph  de  Pomeroy  who 
came  to  England  with  William  the  Conqueror. 
In  this  quaint  gable  appear  the  intertwined  letters 
G.  A.  P.  C,  —  the  initials  of  the  bridegroom  and 
bride, — with  the  date  1804  beneath. 

The  Cooper  room  of  this  old  stone  house, 
now  the  home  of  Mrs.  Benedict,  a  granddaughter, 
shelters  family  portraits  from  William  Cooper's 
time  down  to  the  present  day --five  generations. 
What  stories  might  it  not  tell  of  the  attractive 
originals  ?  Many  were  the  letters  that  Fenimore 

[    22    ] 


Cooper  wrote  from  Europe  to  this  sister,  Mrs. 
George  Pomeroy,  of  the  old  stone  house. 

Mrs.  Benedict  has  also  placed  there  many 
souvenirs  of  her  sister,  Constance  Fenimore 
Woolson,  gathered  during  her  long  residence  in 
Europe,  including  the  author's  writing-table  and 
her  chair. 

"  Master  Oliver  Cory  kept  the  village  school  " 
in  those  child-days  of  Fenimore  Cooper,  and 
long  after.  '''  He  was  well  qualified  for  that 
post;  laborious,  upright,  firm,  yet  patient  and 


THE  OLD  STONE  HOUSE. 

[  23  ] 


kindly  by  nature.  His  training  of  the  boys  was 
excellent.  Saturdays  were  given  to  religious 
lessons,  and  he  paid  careful  but  quiet  attention 
to  their  morals  and  manners."  From  his  sister 
Hannah's  teaching  Judge  Cooper's  youngest  son 
went  to  Master  Cory's  school.  It  was  kept  in 
"  one  of  those  tasteless  buildings  that  afflict  all 
new  countries,"  and  here  was  called  the  "  Acad 
emy."  It  served  Cooper stown  in  timely  ways 
for  religious  and  political  meetings ;  public  courts 
were  held  here,  and  a  ball  was  given  now  and 
then  under  its  roof.  As  to  the  school,  time  and 
incident  brought  out  a  taste  for  music  in  the 
pupils  of  Master  Cory.  It  seems  that  Judge 
Cooper  had  brought  from  Philadelphia  a  large 
upright  organ  of  imposing  appearance  and 
power,  which  he  placed  in  his  manor-house  hall. 
Its  arrival  in  the  village  made  a  summer's  sen 
sation.  When  put  up  and  adjusted,  a  rehearsal 
of  country  dances,  reels,  and  more  serious  music 
came  floating  through  the  broad  door  and  ample 
windows  of  Otsego  Hall  into  Master  Cory's 
domain,  the  Academy,  which  stood  in  the  ad 
joining  street.  As,  with  magic  effect  the  strains 
of  "  Hail  Columbia "  poured  into  the  school 
room,  Master  Cory  skilfully  met  a  moment  of 

[  24  ] 


o    2 
°    I 


open  rebellion  with  these  words :  "  Boys,  that 
organ  is  a  remarkable  instrument.  You  never 
heard  the  like  of  it  before.  I  give  you  half  an 
hour's  intermission.  Go  into  the  street  and  listen 
to  the  music !  " 

These  "  Academy  boys  "  were  ambitious;  each 
annual  exhibition  was  crowded,  to  listen  to  the 
speeches  "  of  Coriolanus,  lago,  Brutus,  and  Cas- 
sius  "  by  "  raw  lads  from  the  village  and  ad 
joining  farms,"  in  all  the  bravery  of  local  militia 
uniform  —  blue  coats  "  faced  with  red,  matross 
swords,  and  hats  of  '76."  On  such  an  occasion 
James  Cooper,  then  a  child  of  eight  years,  be 
came  the  pride  and  admiration  of  Master  Cory 
for  his  moving  recitation  of  the  "  Beggar's  Peti 
tion  "  -  acting  the  part  of  an  old  man  wrapped 
in  a  faded  cloak  and  leaning  over  his  staff.  It 
is  recorded  that  James  had  the  fine,  healthy  pie- 
appetite  usual  to  his  age,  for,  says  the  record, 
when  his  eldest  brother  "  was  showing  the  sights 
of  New  York  to  the  youngest,  he  took  him  to  a 
pasty-shop,  and,  after  watching  the  boy  eat  pasty 
after  pasty,  said  to  him :  '  Jim,  eat  all  you  want, 
but  remember  that  each  one  costs  the  old  man 
a  lot/  '  Pasty  then  outbalanced  property  for 
"  Jim." 

[  26  ] 


In  due  time  the  lad  outgrew  the  Academy's 
instruction,  but  from  boy  to  man  he  never  out 
grew  Master  Cory's  affection,  nor  his  own  for 
the  dear  home  scenes  on  the  shores  of  the 
"  Haunted  Lake/'  which  he  was  so  soon  to  leave 
for  his  first  important  schooling.  The  books  he 
wrote  later  tell  how  he  never  forgot  the  howl 
of  the  wolf  across  the  icy  field  of  Otsego  on 
cold  winter  nights,  the  peculiar  wail  of  the  sharp- 
toothed  panther  in  the  quiet  wood  roads,  nor  the 
familiar  springs  where  the  deer  lingered  latest. 
One  autumn  day,  while  still  a  pupil  under  Master 
Cory's  charge,  the  future  author  of  u  The  Pio 
neers  "  was  at  play  in  his  father's  garden,  when 
suddenly  he  was  surprised  by  a  deer  which  came 
leaping  over  the  fence  from  the  street,  almost 
brushing  his  face  as  it  bounded  away  into  the 
pine  woods  at  the  back  of  the  house.  This  in 
cident  he  often  related  to  his  children. 

It  was  not  long  before  this  youngest  son 
was  sent  from  home.  The  eventful  journey  to 
Albany  was  made  in  the  care  of  a  near  and 
worthy  farmer,  "  who  was  carrying  toward  the 
Hudson  a  load  of  wheat  from  the  fields  of  Ot 
sego."  They  went  over  the  fine  turnpike,  —  the 
great  highway  of  that  day,  — "  just  finished 

[  27  ] 


from  the  Hudson  to  Cherry  Valley/'  The  child 
had  heard  much  of  this  wonder  of  roads  from  the 
gentlemen  at  his  father's  table  who  were  inter 
ested  in  it,  and  he  was  eager  to  see  its  toll-gates 
and  stone  bridges.  After  leaving  "  the  corduroy 
tracks "  leading  to  it  from  Cooperstown,  the 
famous  turnpike  burst  upon  the  gratified  school 
boy's  vision.  As  they  trotted  slowly  along  the 
farmer  pointed  out,  among  other  marvels  of  the 
way,  "  a  tavern  for  every  mile "  of  the  sixty 
between  Albany  and  Lake  Otsego.  A  long  train 
of  farmers'  wagons,  filled  with  the  precious 
wheat,  was  slowly  rolling  eastward,  passing 
emigrant  wagons  of  "  growing  families "  and 
household  gear  moving  westward  to  the  great 
lake  countries.  All  this  delighted  the  boy  of 
nine,  who  was  finally  set  down  at  the  door  of 
St.  Peter's  Rectory  at  Albany,  New  York.  Here 
for  four  years  he  became  one  of  the  four  young 
pupils  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Ellison,  rector  of  the 
church.  Dr.  Ellison  was  an  Englishman  and 
a  graduate  of  Oxford  —  a  rare  scholar  and  a 
king's  man.  From  him  came  Cooper's  strong 
preference  for  English  church  government  and 
equally  strong  feeling  against  the  Puritans  of 
Old  and  New  England.  While  the  Puritan's 

[  28  ] 


character  was  not  pleasing  to  Cooper,  he  him 
self  was  called  a  "  Puritan  of  Puritans,"  and 
it  was  to  them  he  referred  in  the  following: 
"  Whatever  else  I  may  think  of  the  Yankees,  - 


DR.  THOMAS  ELLISON. 

a  calmer,  firmer,  braver  people  do  not  walk  this 
earth."  Of  this  sentiment  "  The  Wept  of  Wish- 
ton-Wish,"  published  in  1829,  gives  ample 
proof. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  Hooper,  author  of  the  "  His 
tory  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Albany,  N.  Y.,"  re 
lated  an  incident  of  Cooper's  old  Rectory  school 
days  there.  The  story  came  to  Dr.  Hooper  from 
Mr.  Edward  Floyd  de  Lancy,  son  of  Bishop  de 
Lancy  of  Western  New  York,  and  is  as  follows : 

[  29  ] 


It  was  the  custom  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Ellison 
when  he  became  too  feeble  to  personally  direct 
his  workmen,  to  sit  upon  the  stoop  of  the  Rec 
tory  and  watch  the  removal  of  the  sandbank 


ST.  PETER'S  CHURCH,  ALBANY,  N.  Y. 

which  covered  the  chosen  site  for  the  new  church, 
corner  of  State  and  Lodge  streets.  Hundreds 
of  loads  had  to  be  carted  away  before  the  foun 
dation  could  be  laid,  and  some  of  the  carter's 
pay  tickets  on  quartered  playing-cards  are  pre 
served  in  St.  Peter's  archives.  But  the  great 
hole  in  the  ground  had  a  great  attraction  for  the 
boys  of  Albany,  and  they  would  leap  into  it  to 
play  tag  and  leap-frog  until  the  stern  voice  of 
the  Dominie  called  them  to  order,  when  they 

[  30  ] 


would  scamper  away  or  hide  in  some  corner  out 
of  sight  of  the  piercing  eyes  of  Dr.  Ellison. 
Sometimes  they  would  answer  him  mockingly, 
to  his  great  annoyance.  He  could  not  pursue 


STATE  STREET,  ALBANY,  N.  Y.,  1802. 

them,  but  he  could,  when  his  own  pupils  joined 
with  the  other  boys,  as  they  often  did,  give  them 
stern  and  severe  lectures  upon  their  conduct,  for 
they  were  playing  on  ground  to  be  used  for  a 
sacred  purpose.  Even  the  rod  of  correction  was 
used  without  curing  them  of  this  habit.  Young 
Cooper  was  often  a  ringleader,  and  their  pranks 
would  often  continue  until  darkness  concealed 
them  from  the  watchful  and  angry  Rector,  to 
whom,  nevertheless,  they  gave  due  honor  and 
respect. 


From  one  of  his  "  Sketches  of  England,"  written 
to  William,  Judge  John  Jay' s  second  son,  comes,  in 
part,  Cooper's  graphic  description  of  Dr.  Ellison : 
'  Thirty-six  years  ago  you  and  I  were  school  fel 
lows  and  classmates  in  the  home  of  a  clergyman  of 
the  true  English  school.  This  man  entertained  a 
most  profound  reverence  for  the  King  and  the 
nobility;  was  not  backward  in  expressing  his  con 
tempt  for  all  classes  of  dissenters  and  all  ungentle- 
manly  sects;  was  particularly  severe  on  the  im 
moralities  of  the  French  Revolution,  and,  though 
eating  our  bread,  was  not  especially  lenient  to  our 
own ;  compelled  you  and  me  to  begin  Virgil  with 
the  eclogues,  and  Cicero  with  the  knotty  phrases 
that  open  the  oration  in  favor  of  the  poet  Archias, 
because  these  writers  would  not  have  placed  them 
first  in  the  books  if  they  did  not  intend  people  to 
read  them  first ;  spent  his  money  freely  and  some 
times  that  of  other  people;  was  particularly  te 
nacious  of  the  ritual  and  of  all  decencies  of  the 
Church ;  detested  a  democrat  as  he  did  the  devil ; 
cracked  his  jokes  daily  about  Mr.  Jefferson,  never 
failing  to  place  his  libertinism  in  strong  relief 
against  the  approved  morals  of  George  III.,  of 
several  passages  in  whose  history  it  is  charitable 
to  suppose  he  was  ignorant ;  prayed  fervently  on 

1 32  ] 


Sunday;  decried  all  morals,  institutions,  churches, 
manners  but  those  of  England  from  Monday  to 
Saturday." 

The  lad  from  Otsego  soon  became  a  prime 
favorite  with  his  tutor,  who  took  pleasure  in 
teaching  him.  The  old-fashioned,  heroic  ro 
mances  were  a  rare  delight  to  him,  —  a  taste 
which  was  thought  to  come  from  his  mother, 
who  was  very  fond  of  such  reading.  One  vaca 
tion,  at  about  the  age  of  eleven,  he  and  a  play 
mate  lost  themselves  in  the  exciting  interest  of 
such  a  tale;  "  Don  Belianus  of  Greece"  made 
so  deep  an  impression  on  Cooper  that  after  read 
ing  it  he  said  seriously  to  his  playfellow  that 
he  would  write  a  book  himself,  and  would  "  begin 
it  at  once."  And,  like  "  Don  Belianus  of  Greece," 
this  story  was  to  have  "  knights,  and  squires, 
and  horses,  and  ladies,  and  castles  and  banners." 
With  the  glory  of  his  story  in  mind,  the  boy 
had  utterly  forgotten  his  hearty  dislike  of  pen- 
work  at  school.  But  his  active  brain  soon  put 
to  flight  this  hobgoblin;  he  thought  of  the  bit 
of  a  blue  newspaper  —  the  Otsego  Herald  - 
printed  in  Cooperstown  by  the  father  of  his 
comrade.  So  they  planned  to  use  the  resting- 
time  of  the  press  for  the  printing  of  this  new 

[  33  ] 


book,  of  which,  however,  only  a  few  chapters 
were  put  in  type.  The  new  author  soon  wearied 
of  his  work;  but  none  the  less  it  was  the  first 
step  in  his  future  literary  career. 

During  1801  a  man  near  fifty,  cleanly  clad 
in  sailor's  gear  but  without  stockings  or  neck 
cloth,  appeared  before  Judge  Cooper  and  asked 
if  the  lot  between  Fenimore  and  the  village  was 
for  sale.  The  answer  was,  "  Yes,  but  the  price 
is  high,"  and  naming  it,  the  stranger  requested 
that  a  deed  be  made  out  at  once;  he  counted 
down  the  amount  in  gold,  and  gave  his  name  as 
Esaias  Hausman.  He  had  built  for  himself  a 
small  rude  house  on  this  lot  and  lived  alone  in 
it  for  years.  The  secrets  of  his  former  life,  his 
wide  learning  (once  found  teaching  a  college 
president  Hebrew),  and  disappearance  at  times, 
were  never  solved.  Only  his  death  revealed  a 
purse  of  gold  worn  between  his  shoulder-blades. 
There  was  no  will,  so  to  public  sale  went  the 
little  hut  and  its  lake-shore  lot.  This  man  of 
mystery  made  a  deep  impression  on  Cooper's 
boy-mind,  and  later,  in  1838,  was  the  subject  of 
several  pages  of  the  author's  "  Chronicles  of 
Cooperstown."  Then  there  was  James  Allen,  — 
a  Scotch  master-mason,  —  who  came  his  way 

[  34  ] 


from  the  "  Land  o'  Cakes  "  in  1801,  and  found, 
as  an  employee  of  Judge  Cooper,  an  opening  for 
his  trade,  and  soon  became  a  great  favorite  with 
the  Cooper  boys.  This  master-mason  took  great 
pride  in  exact  work,  with  which  no  trifling  was 
permitted.  No  stone  could  be  moved  but  his 
true  eye  would  detect  it  in  a  flash,  and  wild  was 
the  fury  with  which  his  fiery  trowel  flew  for 
the  culprit,  and  with  such  convincing  force  that 
it  was  wise  to  avoid  further  meddling  with  the 
"  gude  mon's  "  work.  Of  "  Jamie  Allen/'  master- 
mason  and  staunch  auld  kirke  mon,  many  an 
amusing  story  is  told  in  Fenimore  Cooper's 
"  Wyandotte,  or  the  Hutted  Knoll,"  written  in 
1843.  These  men  among  others  marked  the 
unusual  in  Cooper's  vacations  from  Dr.  Ellison's 
school-rule  at  Albany.  Later  in  life  he  wrote 
a  lively  memory-sketch  of  his  tutor,  the  rector 
of  St.  Peter's  Church.  But  the  death  in  1802 
of  this  accomplished  gentleman  sent  his  pupil  - 
then  a  stripling  of  thirteen  —  to  Yale.  He  en 
tered  the  freshman  1802-3  January-term  class, 
and,  "  excepting  the  poet  Hillhouse,  two  weeks 
his  junior,  James  Cooper  was  the  youngest  stu 
dent  in  college."  There  "  his  progress  in  his 
studies  is  said  to  have  been  honorable  to  his 

[  35  ] 


talents."    And  "  in  the  ancient  languages  he  had 
no  superior  in  his  class." 

Cooper  owned  to  having  learned  little  at  col 
lege.    When  left  to  his  own  bent,  his  early  love 


"  NEAR  SHORES  "  OF  NEW  HAVEN. 

for  out-of-door  life  drew  him  to  roam  the  hills 
and  explore  near  shores,  and  to  his  first  view  of 
the  grand  old  ocean,  which  later  claimed  his 
tribute  of  service.  For  a  boyish  frolic  in  his 
junior  year  the  lad  left  Yale,  and  this  incident 
ended  his  college  career.  It  is  of  record  that 
Judge  Cooper  took  the  boy's  part  against  the 
faculty  version  and  brought  his  son  home.  Yet 
something  from  his  books  James  Cooper  must 
have  gleaned,  for  there  is  a  story  of  a  young 
sailor  who,  in  some  public  place  in  the  streets 
of  an  English  port,  attracted  the  curiosity  of  the 

[  36  ] 


crowd  by  explaining  to  his  companions  the  mean 
ing  of  a  Latin  motto. 

The  Albany,  school-boy  days  of  William  Jay  and 
James  Cooper  were  renewed  at  Yale  where  was 
welded  their  strong  life-friendship.  On  the  col 
lege  roll  of  their  time  appear  amongst  other  names 
that  of  John  C.  Calhoun  of  South  Carolina,  and 
the  scholarly  poet  Hillhouse  of  New  Haven,  In 
the  Dodd,  Mead  &  Company's  1892  issue  of 
'  William  Jay  and  the  Constitutional  Movement 
for  the  Abolition  of  Slavery,"  by  Bayard  Tucker- 
man,  with  a  preface,  by  John  Jay,  appears  a  letter 
dating  1852,  written  by  Judge  William  Jay  to  his 


[  38  ] 


JAMES  COOPER. 

When  a  student  at  Yale. 


grandson.  This  letter  gives  graphic  glimpses  of 
Yale  College  life  during  the  student  days  there  of 
its  writer  and  James  Cooper :  "  The  resident  grad 
uates  were  denominated  *  Sirs  ' ;  their  place  in 
Chapel  was  called  'the  Sirs  pew';  and  when 
spoken  of  in  college  '  Sir  '  was  always  placed  be 
fore  their  names.  At  that  time  the  freshmen  oc 
cupied,  in  part,  the  place  of  sizers  in  the  English 
universities,  and  they  were  required  to  run  errands 
for  the  seniors.  My  room-mate  was  Sir  Holly 
(Dr.  Horace  Holly).  As  a  mere  freshman,  I 
looked  up  to  my  room-mate  with  great  respect,  and 
treated  him  accordingly.  About  half  past  five  in 
winter,  the  bell  summoned  us  from  our  beds,  - 
I  rose,  generally,  before  six,  —  made  the  fire,  and 
then  went,  pitcher  in  hand,  often  wading  through 
snow,  for  water  for  Sir  Holly  and  myself.  Of 
the  college  bell,"  the  letter  continues:  "  at  six  it 
called  us  to  prayers  in  the  chapel.  We  next 
repaired  to  the  recitation-rooms  and  recited, 
by  candlelight,  the  lessons  we  had  studied  the  pre 
ceding  evening.  At  eight  we  had  breakfast,  - 
our  meals  were  taken  in  a  large  hall  with  a  kitchen 
opening  into  it.  The  students  were  arranged  at 
tables  according  to  their  classes.  All  sat  on 
wooden  benches,  not  excepting  the  tutors;  the 

[  40  ] 


latter  had  a  table  to  themselves  on  an  elevated 
platform  whence  they  had  a  view  of  the  whole 
company.  But  it  was  rather  difficult  for  them  to 
attend  to  their  plates  and  to  watch  two  hundred 
boys  at  the  same  time.  Salt  beef  once  a  day, 
and  dry  cod  were  perhaps  the  most  usual  dishes. 
On  Sunday  mornings,  during  the  winter,  our 
breakfast-tables  were  graced  with  large  tin  milk- 
cans  filled  with  stewed  oysters ;  at  the  proper  sea 
son  we  were  occasionally  treated  with  green  peas. 
As  you  may  suppose,  a  goodly  number  of  waiters 
were  needed  in  the  hall.  These  were  all  students, 
and  many  of  them  among  the  best  and  most  es 
teemed  scholars.  At  nine  the  bell  warned  us  to 
our  rooms.  At  twelve  it  called  us  to  a  recitation 
or  a  lecture.  After  dinner  we  recommenced  our 
studies  for  the  third  time,  at  four  o'clock.  During 
study  hours  the  tutors  would  frequently  go  the 
rounds,  looking  into  our  rooms  to  see  that  we  were 
not  playing  truant.  Before  supper,  we  all  attended 
prayers  in  the  chapel/' 

Although,  from  the  necessity  of  his  times, 
Chief- Justice  John  Jay  was  a  slave  owner,  his 
son,  William  —  refined,  benevolent,  pleasing  in 
manner,  but  with  a  temper  easily  aroused  by  in 
justice  —  became  an  early,  alert,  and  strong  acl- 


vocate  of  the  anti-slavery  cause.  This  eminent 
jurist  who  built  his  life  upon  the  plan  of  his 
words,  "  Duties  are  ours  and  consequences  are 
God's"  (as  did  also  Cooper),  was  graphically 
addressed  and  described  by  Cooper  as  "  Thou 
most  pugnacious  man  of  peace." 

Leaving  Yale  to  the  more  studious,  no  doubt 
the  young  man  enjoyed  this  brief  period  of  home- 
life  and  the  distinguished  guests  drawn  by  its 
hospitality  to  Otsego  Hall.  Yet  even  this  could 
not  for  long  hold  him  there.  Perhaps  he  was 
influenced  by  what  he  heard  from  them  of  the 
great  outside  world,  and  he,  too,  wished  to  see 
what  it  was  like.  As  a  stepping-stone  to  a  com 
mission  in  the  navy,  Judge  Cooper  secured  a 
berth  for  his  son,  who  shipped  as  a  sailor  before- 


OUTWARD  BOUND 

[  42  ] 


the-mast  in  the  Stirling,  of  Wiscasset,  Maine, 
John  Johnston  master  and  part  owner.  In  the  care 
of  a  merchant,  young  Cooper  went  dowrn  to  the 
docks  to  look  about  the  ship  and  sign  the  articles, 
and  the  next  day  he  returned  in  his  sailor's 
garb.  The  Stirling  was  taken  into  the  stream, 
and  his  new  comrades,  a  mixture  of  nations,  - 
four  Americans,  a  Portuguese,  a  Spaniard,  a 
Prussian,  a  Dane,  an  Englishman,  a  Scotch  boy, 
and  a  Canadian,  —  tumbled  aboard,  not  quite 
themselves;  but  by  night  they  were  in  working 
trim.  The  young  commander  was  described  as 
"  kind  and  considerate  of  all  hands,"  and  the 
ship  as  "  carrying  a  motley  crew/'  When  "  all 
hands  "  were  called  to  get  the  Stirling  under 
way,  Cooper,  with  another  boy,  w^as  sent  aloft 
to  loose  the  foretopsail.  With  eager  will  he 
tugged  stoutly  at  "  the  robbins,"  when  the  second 
mate  appeared  just  in  time  to  prevent  him  from 
dropping  his  part  of  the  sail  into  the  top.  The 
good-hearted  mate  had  a  kindly  mind  for  the 
"  new  hand,"  and  the  men  were  too  busy  to 
notice  small  failures  aloft.  Young  Cooper  soon 
found  an  old  salt  who  taught  him  to  knot  and 
splice  with  the  best  of  them,  and  old  Barnstable 
was  repaid  for  these  lessons  by  the  merry  times 

[  43  1 


they  had  together  when  they  got  ashore.  How 
ever,  with  her  cargo  of  flour,  the  Stirling  sailed 
from  New  York  in  the  autumn  of  1806  for  the 
English  market  at  Cowes,  and  therefore  when 
Cooper  should  have  been  taking  his  class  degree 
at  Yale,  he  was  outward  bound  on  the  sea's 
highway.  Being  to  the  manor  born  did  not 
admit  the  sailor  before-the-mast  to  the  captain's 
cabin,  but  no  doubt  the  long,  rough  voyage  of 
forty  stormy  days  did  make  of  the  young  man 
a  jolly  tar.  Through  her  usual  veil  of  fog  came 
Cooper's  first  view  of  Old  England  when  threat 
ened  with  Napoleon's  invasion.  Forty-odd  sail 
of  warships  \vere  sighted  by  the  night-watch 
when  the  Stirling  passed  the  straits  of  Dover  at 
daybreak.  They  gave  the  young  man  an  object- 
lesson  that  he  never  forgot,  in  the  watchfulness 
and  naval  power  of  Great  Britain.  The  Stirling 
had  but  dropped  anchor  in  English  waters  when 
she  was  boarded  by  a  British  man-of-war's  boat- 
crew,  and  one  of  her  best  hands  was  forced  into 
the  English  navy  service,  and  another  sailor 
barely  escaped,  he  having  satisfactory  papers. 
At  London  a  third  hand  was  lost,  and  Captain 
Johnston  himself  was  seized  by  a  press-gang. 
Finally,  in  round-jacket  and  tarpaulin,  the 
[  44  ] 


future  guest  of  Samuel  Rogers  and  Holland 
House,  planted  his  feet  on  British  soil.  At 
London  he  saw  about  everything  a  gay  young 
fellow  of  seventeen  in  sailor's  gear  could,  of  that 
wonderful  city,  —  or  so  thought  Ned  Myers,  one 
of  his  shipmates,  who  was  with  him  most  of  the 
time.  Concerning  these  jaunts  Myers  says:  "I 
had  one  or  two  cruises  of  a  Sunday  in  the  tow 
of  Cooper,  who  soon  became  a  branch  pilot  in 
those  waters  about  the  parks  and  the  West  End, 
the  Monument,  St.  Paul's  and  the  lions ;  Cooper 
took  a  look  at  the  arsenal,  jewels,  and  armory 
[Tower  of  London].  He  had  a  rum  time  of 
it  in  his  sailor's  rig;  hoisted  in  a  wonderful  lot 
of  gibberish."  And  with  his  fine  stories  of  each 
day's  sights  in  old  London  town,  the  young  sailor 
would  make  merry  evenings  for  his  forecastle 


GIBRALTAR. 
t  45  ] 


comrades,  of  whom  it  is  recorded  his  strength 
could  lay  flat  on  their  backs  in  two  minutes. 

In  January  the  Stirling  spread  her  sails  for 
another  stormy  passage,  —  to  the  straits  of 
Gibraltar.  On  running  out,  the  ship  was  boarded 
by  a  gun-boat  officer,  who  tried  to  press  a  Swede; 
whereupon,  young  Cooper  thinking  it '-an- insult 
to  our  'flag,  began  high  words  with  the  English 
man,  but  was  soon  silenced  by  Captain  Johnston. 
The  Stirling  met  with  various  stirring  adven 
tures,  being  chased  by  a  Bay-of-Biscay  pirate 
and  rescued  by  the  timely  appearance  of  a  British 
cruiser.  It  was  thick  westerly  weather  when  they 
ran  into  the  straits,  and  as  the  English  fleet  was 
off  Cape  Trafalgar,  Captain  Johnston  realized 
the  danger  of  being  run  down  in  the  night,  and 
came  on  deck  during  the  middle  watch  for  a 
sharp  lookout  on  the  forecastle.  Night  orders 
were  given  when  came  the  warning,  "  Sail  ho!  " 
and  through  the  mists  and  shadows  was  seen 
dimly  a  two-decker  bearing  directly  down  upon 
them.  The  Captain  ordered  the  helm  "  hard 
up!"  and  called  Cooper  to  "bring  a  light." 
With  a  leap  he  rushed  to  the  cabin,  seized  the 
light,  and  in  half  a  minute  it  was  swinging  from 
the  mizzen  rigging,  his  promptness  saving  the 

[  46  ] 


ship.  So  near  were  the  two  vessels  that  the 
deck  officer's  voice  was  distinctly  heard  calling 
his  quarter-master  to  "  port  the  helm."  As  the 
great  mass  swept  by  them  she  seemed  about  to 
crush  their  railing  with  the  muzzle  of  her  guns. 

While  the  Stirling  was  lying  off  the  old  Moor 
ish  town  of  Almaria,  Cooper  and  others  were 
sent  ashore  in  a  jolly-boat  to  boil  pitch.  To 
return  to  the  ship  they  put  off  in  a  heavy  sea, 
knowing  it  would  be  difficult  to  work  through 
the  surf;  but  orders  were  orders,  and  delay  would 
not  help.  So  off  they  plunged,  when  suddenly  a 
breaker  "  took  the  bow  of  the  boat,  and  lifting  her 
almost  on  end,  turned  her  keel  uppermost."  All 
hands  got  safely  ashore  —  how,  none  could  tell. 
A  second  launching  resulted  as  the  first,  but  with 
a  third  they  succeeded  in  forging  their  way  out, 
and  boarded  the  ship.  Later  they  ran  short  of 
provisions.  But  the  Stirling's  return  cargo  was 
brought  back  safely  to  London,  where  the  ship 
lay  at  anchor  for  two  months  or  more,  and  then 
sailed  in  July  for  America.  After  a  voyage  of 
fifty-two  days  she  dropped  anchor  at  Philadel 
phia,  September  18,  1807.  So  much  for  this  good 
ship  named  for  Stirling  Castle  of  Bonnie  Scotland. 

Such  were  the  lessons  young  Cooper  learned  in 
[  47  ] 


this  rough  but  manly  school.  A  brother  officer 
who  knew  him  well  said,  "  He  was  active,  prompt, 
and  efficient,  a  pleasant  shipmate,  always  ready 
to  do  his  duty,  and  rigorous  too  in  exacting  it 
of  others."  Of  Cooper's  "  Naval  History  "  was 
added,  "  It  is  the  noblest  tribute  ever  paid  to  a 
noble  profession/'  Aboard  the  Stirling  on  these 
several  cruises  Cooper  learned  much  that  after 
wards  appeared  in  his  sea  tales.  It  was  of  this 
sea-service  that  he  wrote,  "  I  have  been  myself 
one  of  eleven  hands,  officers  included,  to  navi 
gate  a  ship  of  three  hundred  tons  across  the 
Atlantic  Ocean;  and,  what  is  more,  we  often 
reefed  topsails  with  the  watch."  Of  the  Stirling 
he  wrote,  "  The  ship  was  on  a  bow-line  most  of 
the  time  ";  and  he  thought  her  "  one  of  the  wet 
test  ships  that  ever  floated  when  heading  up 
against  the  sea."  A  lively  account  of  this  eleven 
months'  service  is  found  in  Cooper's  story  of 
"  Ned  Myers."  This  life  of  his  shipmate  aboard 
the  Stirling  was  written  in  1843.  The  old  salt 
was  a  battered  hulk  in  the  "  Sailor's  Snug  Har 
bor  "  when  Cooper  was  on  the  crest  of  the  wave 
of  his  literary  fame,  and  the  old  sailor,  wonder 
ing  if  this  Cooper  could  be  the  comrade  of  his 
youth  in  the  Stirling  days  of  yore,  wrote,  after 

[  48  ] 


SAILOR'S  SNUG  HARBOR. 

the  twenty-five  years  of  separation,  to  inquire. 
The  answer  was,  "  I  am  your  old  shipmate, 
Ned/'  Later,  "  Ned  "  was  invited  to  visit  the 
Hall.  Many  remember  the  interesting  two  in 
1843.  '  Hardly  a  day  passed  that  they  were 
not  seen,  as  the  heavy  Hall  gates  swung  open 
at  eleven  o'clock,  coming  out  for  a  morning  walk 
or  a  sail  on  the  lake ;  —  Cooper's  portly  form, 
and  by  his  side  a  shriveled  figure  with  halting 
step,  leaning  heavily  on  a  crooked  stick  which 
served  for  a  cane.  They  were  as  strong  in  con 
trast  as  it  was  possible  for  men  to  be."  It  was 
during  this  visit  that  the  old  sailor  spun  his  life- 
yarn  in  his  own  way  and  Cooper  wove  it  into 
his  book,  "  Ned  Myers." 

[  49  ] 


Perhaps  the  following  interesting  Coopers- 
town  story  of  Cooper's  youth  is  of  the  time  of 
his  return  from  his  Stirling  voyage.  One  day 
a  merry  group  of  young  men  proposed  a  foot 
race,  the  course  to  he  around  the  square  —  a 
distance  of  about  one  hundred  yards.  James 
Cooper  was  named  as  one  of  the  runners,  and 
his  rival  was  soon  chosen.  According  to  cus 
tom,  the  village  boys,  girls,  men,  and  women 
were  spectators.  Like  a  mettlesome  steed  in 
curb  young  Cooper  looked  at  the  wager,  —  a 
basket  of  fruit,  —  then  at  his  race-mate,  and 
accepted  the  challenge,  but  not  on  even  terms. 
It  was  not  enough  for  a  sailor  simply  to  out 
run  a  landsman ;  he  could  do  more.  A  little  girl 
stood  near,  her  bright  face  eager  with  watching 


OTSEGO  HALL  GATES. 

[  50  ] 


for  the  fray.  Cooper  turned  quickly  and  caught 
her  up  in  his  arms,  and  with  the  pride  and 
muscle  of  an  athlete  exclaimed,  "  I  '11  carry  her 
with  me  and  beat  you !  "  Away  they  flew, 
Cooper  with  his  laughing  burden  upon  his  shoul 
ders;  one  corner  was  turned,  and  the  excited 
crowd  saw  with  surprise  James  Cooper  with  his 
small  rider  keeping  pace  with  the  other  flying 
youth.  Another,  and  the  other  corners  were 
soon  passed;  both  sprang  like  race-horses  near 
the  end  of  the  course,  but  Cooper,  with  his  little 
black-eyed  girl  aloft  and  the  perspiration  pour 
ing  down  his  manly  brow  and  cheeks,  was  the 
first  to  reach  the  mark,  and  amidst  such  cheers 
and  hurrahs  as  only  pioneers  can  freely  give, 
and  as  freely  enjoy.  The  fruit  he  had  won,  but 
soon  it  was  shared  by  all  around.  That  little 
girl,  later  the  wife  of  Captain  William  Wilson, 
often  told  the  story  of  her  ride  on  pleasant  James 
Cooper's  shoulders. 

While  never  a  rhymester,  Cooper,  in  his  early 
manhood  and  at  rare  times  after,  did  write  oc 
casional  sentimental  and  comic  verses  that  be 
tokened  both  clever  imagination  and  other  merit. 
Into  the  Otscgo  Herald  printing-office  a  poor  epi 
leptic  ballad-singer  came  one  day  to  ask  help 


from  a  group  of  gentlemen.  A  purse  was  made 
up  for  him,  but  he,  looking  among  them,  said  if 
one  of  them  would  write  for  him  "  a  few  verses 
—  something  new  "  -  they  would  be  worth  more 


BUFFALO  BURNT. 

than  the  silver  given  him.  Young  Cooper  of 
fered  to  try,  and  asked  on  what  subject  he  should 
write.  "  There  's  nothing  sells  like  ballads,"  was 
the  reply.  So  the  ballad  was  promised;  and 
some  thirty  or  more  pathetic  verses  were  writ 
ten  at  once,  about  the  small  frontier  village  re 
cently  burnt  by  troops  under  Colonel  Murray 
during  the  close  of  the  last  war  with  England. 
This  ballad  bore  the  high-sounding  title  of  "  Buf 
falo  Burnt,  or  the  Dreadful  Conflagration."  It 
won  such  success  among  the  farm-house  gentry 

[  52  ] 


that  the  singer  returned  for  another  ballad  and 
obtained  it.  Some  years  later  Mr.  Cooper  was 
invited  to  a  tea-party  in  a  near  village,  when  a 
young  lady,  led  to  the  piano  for  music,  began  to 


THE  VESUVIUS. 

sing,  much  to  the  author's  disturbing  amazement, 
'  Buffalo  Burnt,  or  the  Dreadful  Conflagration." 
So  passed  the  pleasant  vacation  days  of  our 
young  sailor,  whose  training  before-the-mast  en 
abled  his  father  to  obtain  for  him  a  midship 
man's  commission  in  the  United  States  Navy, 
for  which  James  Cooper  reported  for  duty  at 
New  York  City,  January  12,  1808.  At  the  age 
of  nineteen  he  first  served  aboard  the  Vesuvius. 
Thence  he  was  ordered  to  Oswego,  New  York, 
to  build  the  brig  Oneida  for  Lake  Ontario  ser 
vice,  and  which  the  spring  of  1809  saw  launched. 

[  53  ] 


While  the  war  flurries  which  called  for  the 
building  of  the  vessel  were  tethered,  Cooper  had 
learned  his  lesson  in  ship-building,  ship-yard 
duties,  and  water-border  life;  and  these  served 


ONTARIO  FORESTS. 

him  more  than  thirty  years  later  in  his  match 
less  Indian  story,  "  The  Pathfinder."  Miss 
Susan  Cooper  has  left  some  interesting  pages 
of  this  period  of  her  father's  naval  service;  in 
part  they  read:  "  In  1808  several  young  officers 
under  Lieutenant  Woolsey  were  ordered  to  the 
shores  of  Lake  Ontario  for  building  a  small  ves 
sel  of  war.  Among  them  was  Mr.  Cooper,  then 
a  midshipman  in  the  service.  Their  road  lay  for 
many  a  mile  through  the  forest  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Oswego  River,  —  their  destination,  —  where 
the  Oneida,  a  brig  mounting  sixteen  guns,  was 

[  54  ] 


built  and  launched.  They  enjoyed  the  wild 
coloring  of  frontier  life.  They  roamed  the  for 
ests  and  explored  the  shores  in  leisure  hours. 
Cruises  among  the  Thousand  Islands  were  fre- 


-. .  ;•  •• : 


THE  THOUSAND  ISLANDS. 

quent;  many  were  the  fine  fish  caught  and  good 
chowders  eaten.  The  picturesque  beauties  of 
the  region,  the  countless  islands,  were  greatly 
enjoyed  and  never  forgotten  by  the  young  mid 
shipman/'  The  youthful  officers  were  ordered 
to  Buffalo,  and  stopping  for  the  night  at  a  rude 
frontier  inn,  it  was  Cooper's  duty  to  inquire 
what  they  might  have  for  supper.  "  Mine  host 
shook  his  head  ruefully;  he  could  promise  very 
little.  '  Give  us  what  you  eat  yourself;  you  must 

[  55  ] 


have  food  of  some  kind/  said  Cooper.  Mine  host 
looked  melancholy ;  on  his  honor  he  assured  the 
young  officers  he  had  absolutely  nothing  to  set 
before  them  but  game,  steak,  and  brook-trout; 
and,  maybe  his  wife  could  find  cranberries  for 
a  tart!  A  month  earlier  they  should  have  had 
a  dish  of  fried  pork  fit  for  the  President,  with  a 


THE  PORT  OF  BUFFALO. 

pumpkin    pie    after    it.       '  Game 's    plenty,    but 
nothin'  else ! '  added  the  publican  with  a   sigh. 
Mine  host  was  pining  for  pork!     On  this  expe 
dition  Mr.  Cooper  saw  Niagara  for  the  first  time. 
He  was  struck  with  the  grandeur  of  the  cataract, 
but  felt  its  sublime  character   far  more  deeply 
on  a  later  visit  —  after  his  return  from  Europe/' 
When  the   Oneida  was  launched  the  gallant 
[  56  ] 


young  officers  resolved  to  celebrate  the  event  by 
giving  a  ball.  '  This  was  an  enterprise  of  a 
desperate  character ;  —  building  a  brig  hundreds 


CAPTAIN  M.  T.  WOOLSEY. 

of  miles  from  a  ship-yard  was  a  trifle  to  giving 
a  ball  in  the  wilderness.  True,  one  fiddle  and 
half  a  dozen  officers  were  something;  refresh 
ments  and  a  military  ball-room  might  be  hoped 
for;  but  where,  pray,  were  the  ladies  to  come 
from?  "  They  would  not  think  of  dancing  with 
each  other,  and  ladies  must  be  found.  Vigorous 
efforts  were  made  by  sending  boats  in  some 
directions  and  carts  miles  in  others,  to  invite 
the  ladies ;  and  they  accepted.  As  the  hour  drew 
near  a  very  delicate  point  came  up  for  decision 
-  the  honors  due  different  fair  claimants.  After 
a  council  of  war,  Lieutenant  Woolsey  gave  to 
his  master-of-ceremonies  these  orders :  "  All 
ladies,  sir,  provided  with  shoes  and  stockings 

[  57  ] 


are  to  be  led  to  the  head  of  the  Virginia  reel ; 
ladies  with  shoes,  and  without  stockings,  are 
considered  in  the  second  rank;  ladies  without 
shoes  or  stockings  you  will  lead,  gentlemen,  to 
the  foot  of  the  country  dance!"  Such  was  a 
grand  military  ball  in  Oswego  County  in  1808-9. 

About  this  time  occurred  an  amusing  incident 
of  their  raw  young  mess-servant,  fresh  from 
Ireland :  "  A  table-cloth  had  taken  fire  and  was 
in  full  blaze;  Paddy  was  at  the  moment  filling 
a  teapot  from  an  ample  kettle  in  his  hand.  '  Pour 
the  w7ater  on  the  table !  '  called  out  one  of  the 
officers.  '  Sure,  the  wather  is  Jwt,  your  honor! ' 
exclaimed  Paddy,  in  great  dismay,  holding  the 
kettle  at  a  very  safe  distance  from  the  blazing- 
cloth,  and  his  face  such  a  picture  of  helpless 
despair  as  to  make  Mr.  Cooper  heartily  laugh 
at  every  after-thought  of  it." 

The  passing  of  thirty  or  more  years  made 
of  this  light-hearted  young  midshipman  a  well- 
known  writer,  with  the  purpose  that  his  next 
book  should  tell  of  this  unforgettable  region  of 
the  great  lakes.  He  wished  to  bring  into  it  the 
sailors  and  Indians  as,  by  coming  in  close  con 
tact  with  them,  "  he  knew  their  personalities  and 
characteristics."  Then,  forest  scenes  without 

[  58  ] 


"  Natty  Bumppo  "  could  scarce  come  from  his 
pen  after  the  drawings  of  old  "  Leatherstock- 
ing  "  of  "  The  Pioneers,"  "  Hawkeye  "  of  "  The 
Mohicans,"  and  the  "  aged  trapper  "  of  "  The 
Prairie."  So  it  came  about  that  "  Natty,  the 
lover,"  'stepped  into  these  pages -- Natty,  "so 
simple,  so  tender,  so  noble  and  true  —  what  shall 
be  said  of  him  ?  We  must  all  needs  love  him ;  it 
is  not  with  words  but  with  tears  that  we  wring 


THE  PATHFINDER. 


his  hand  and  part  from  him  on  the  lake  shore  " 
as  "  The  Pathfinder."    Glowing  and  brave  proved 

[  59  1 


A  BUBBLE  OF  A  BOAT. 

his  Mabel,  as  "  the  bubble  of  a  boat  floated  on  the 
very  crest  of  a  foaming  breaker,"  -  yet  not  for 
him.  But  the  ripple  of  the  lake's  waves  and  rust 
ling  of  forest  leaves  are  as  unforgettable  as  the 
low,  sweet  tones  of  i4  Dew-of-June."  Of  kk  The 
Pathfinder  "  and  Cooper  Balzac  wrote :  "  Its  in 
terest  is  tremendous.  He  surely  owed  us  this 
masterpiece  after  the  last  two  or  three  raphso- 
dies  he  has  given  us." 

In  the  year  1809  Cooper  was  attached  to  a 
gun-boat  serving  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  on 
November  13  following,  he  was  ordered  to  the 
,  under  Capt.  James  Lawrence,  of  Bur- 
[  60  ] 


THE 


lington  —  a  personal  friend,  and  also  the  heroic 
commander  of  the  Chesapeake  in  her  action 
with  the  Shannon,  in  which  his  last  words  were, 
"  Don't  give  up  the  ship!"  It  was  aboard  the 
Wasp  that  Cooper's  lifelong  friendship  with 
Commodore  Shubrick  of  South  Carolina  began, 
who,  like  himself,  and  a  year  younger,  was  a  mid 
shipman.  To  this  friend  the  author  dedicated 
"  The  Pilot/'  "  Red  Rover,"  and  other  stories. 

Political  feeling  ran  high  in  those  early  days 
of  1809,  and  prominent  persons  did  not  escape 
from  their  opponents  with  bitter  feeling  only. 
So  it  came  about  that  in  December  of  that  year, 
Judge  Cooper,  on  leaving  a  hot  convention,  met 
his  death,  —  the  result  of  a  blow  on  the  head, 
as  he  was  coming  down  the  steps  of  the  State 
capitol  at  Albany,  New  York.  No  one  of  his 
day  who  was  engaged  in  the  work  of  large  buy 
ing  and  selling  of  land  made  so  deep  an  impres 
sion  as  did  Judge  Cooper  on  his  times,  and  on 
his  author  son,  whose  land  books  disclose  to 
posterity  with  historic  exactness  the  hardships 
and  values  of  the  pioneers  of  our  country. 

After  Judge  Cooper's  death  Richard  Fenimore, 
his  eldest  son,  became  the  head  of  the  family, 
and  it  was  to  him  that  James  wrote  from 

[  62  ] 


NEW  YORK,  May  i8th,   1810 

I  wrote  you  yesterday,  a  letter  in  a  great  hurry,  as 
its  contents  are  of  some  importance.  I  employ  the 
leisure  time  offeree!  today,  to  inform  you  more  fully 
of  my  views. 

When  you  wrere  in  the  City,  I  hinted  to  you,  my  in 
tention  of  resigning  at  the  end  of  this  session  of  Con 
gress,  should  nothing  be  done  for  the  Navy  —  my  only 
reason  at  that  time  was  the  blasted  prospects  of  the 
service.  I  accordingly  wrote  my  resignation  and  as 
usual  offer'd  it -to  Capt.  Lawrence,  for  his  inspection  - 
he  very  warmly  recommended  to  me  to  give  the  service 
the  trial  of  another  year  or  two  —  at  the  same  time 
offering  to  procure  me  a  furlough  which  would  leave 
me  perfect  master  of  my  actions  in  the  interval  —  I 
thought  it  wisest  to  accept  this  proposition  —  at  the 
end  of  this  year  I  have  it  in  my  power  to  resign,  should 
the  situation  of  the  Country  warrant  it. 

Like  all  the  rest  of  the  sons  of  Adam,  I  have  bowed 
to  the  influence  of  the  claims  of  a  fair  damsel  of 
eighteen.  I  loved  her  like  a  man  and  told  her  of  it 
like  a  sailor.  The  peculiarity  of  my  situation  occasion'd 
me  to  act  with  something  like  precipitancy.  I  am  per 
fectly  confident,  however,  I  shall  never  have  cause  to 
repent  of  it  —  .  As  you  are  cooly  to  decide,  I  will  as 
cooly  give  you  the  qualities  of  my  mistress.  Susan 
De  Lancey  is  the  daughter  of  a  man  of  very  respec 
table  connections  and  a  handsome  fortune  —  amiable, 
sweet-tempered  and  happy  in  her  disposition.  - 
She  has  been  educated  in  the  country,  occasionally  try 
ing  the  temperature  of  the  City  —  to  rub  off  the  rust 
-  but  hold  a  moment,  it  is  enough  she  pleases  me  in 


the  qualities  of  her  person  and  mind  —  .  Like  a  true 
quixotic  lover,  I  made  proposals  to  her  father  —  he  has 
answered  them  in  the  most  gentlemanly  manner  —  . 
You  have  my  consent  to  address  my  daughter  if  you 
will  gain  the  approbation  of  your  mother  —  He  also 
informs  me  that  his  daughter  has  an  estate  in  the 
County  of  Westchester  in  reversion,  secured  to  her  by 
a  deed  in  trust  to  him  —  .  I  write  all  this  for  you  - 
you  know  /  am  indifferent  to  anything  of  this  nature. 
Now  I  have  to  request  —  you  will  take  your  hat  and 
go  to  mother,  the  boys,  girls,  and  say  to  them  have  you 
any  objection  that  James  Cooper  shall  marry  at  a 
future  day,  Susan  De  Lancey.  If  any  of  them  forbid 
the  bans  may  the  Lord  have  forgiven  them  —  for  I 
never  will  —  .  Then  take  your  pen  and  write  to  Mr. 
De  Lancey  stating  the  happiness  and  pleasure  it  will 
give  all  the  family  to  have  this  connection  completed 
—  all  this  I  wish  you  to  do  immediately,  as  I  am  de 
prived  of  the  pleasure  of  visiting  my  flame  until  this 
is  done,  by  that  confounded  bore,  delicacy  —  be  so 
good  as  to  inclose  the  letter  in  one  to  me,  at  the  same 
time  don't  forget  to  inclose  a  handsome  sum  to  square 
the  yards  here  and  bring  me  to  Cooperstown. 

I  wish  not  to  interrupt  you  in  your  attempt  to  clear 
the  estate  —  my  expenditure  shall  be  as  small  as 

Your  brother,  JAMES  COOPER. 

The  de  Lancey s  were  Huguenots  and  their 
loyalty  to  England  during  the  Revolution 
made  several  of  them  British  officers.  Al 
though  Cooper  was  ever  a  staunch  American, 

[  64  ] 


this  incident,  with  several  others  in  his  later  life, 
seemed  unfavorable  to  some  few  who  were  only 
too  willing  to  question  his  loyalty. 

Miss  de  Lancey's  great  grandfather,  Stephen, 


b  88  «  ?! 


,f  Jl  S  B         ll 


FRAUNCES  TAVERN. 


JAMES  DE  LANCEY'S  SEAL. 


THE  HEATHCOTE  ARMS. 


was  the  first  of  this  aristocratic  Westchester- 
County  family  on  American  soil.  He  fled  from 
Normandy  on  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of 
Nantes,  and  in  1686  came  to  New  York.  Here 
his  son  James  became  chief-justice  and  lieuten- 

[  65  ] 


ant-governor,  and  married  Ann,  eldest  daughter 
of  the  Hon.  Caleb  Heathcote,  lord  of  the  manor 
of  Scarsdale,  Westchester,  and  whose  manor 
house  was  Heathcote  Hill,  which  their  fourth 
son,  John  Peter  de  Lancey,  Cooper's  father-in- 
law,  inherited  from  his  mother.  One  of  a 
number  of  services  the  old-world  Derbyshire 
Heathcote-Hill  family  rendered  to  its  country 
was  giving  to  the  Bank  of  England  its  first 
president.  The  de  Lancey  name  still  clings  to 

[  66  ] 


FRAUNCES  TAVERN  LONG  ROOM. 

the  new-world  history  in  Fraunces  Tavern,  built 
by  Stephen  cle  Lancey  in  1700,  for  his  home. 
Sixty-two  years  later  it  became  the  tavern  of 
Samuel  Fraunces.  In  1776  and  1783  it  was  the 
headquarters  of  General  Washington,  and  in  its 
famous  Long  Room  "  The  Father  of  his  Coun 
try  "  made  his  farewell  address,  and  bid  adieu 
to  his  generals.  Number  130  Broadway  was  the 
de  Lancey  home  of  1730,  and  here  was  given  the 
first  inauguration  ball  of  our  nation.  On  this 
site  was  built  "  Burn's  Coffee  House,"  which 
teemed  with  interesting  events.  The  City  Hotel 
took  its  place  in  1806.  John  Peter  de  Lancey 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Col.  Richard 
Floyd,  and  in  1789  came  to  Heathcote  Hill, 
Westchester  County,  which  he  rebuilt  on  the 

[  67  ] 


site  of  the  old  manor  house,  burned  down.  In 
this  home  he  lived  out  his  days.  Here  his  son, 
William  Heathcote,  Bishop  of  Western  New 


BURN'S  COFFEE  HOUSE. 

York,  was  born;  and  also  his  lovely  daughter, 
Susan  Augusta;  here  she  was  \vooed  and  won 
by  the  handsome  young  naval  officer,  and  on  New 
Year's  day,  1811,  became  Mrs.  James  Cooper. 
In  1899  Dr.  Theodore  F.  Wolfe  writes  of  Cooper 
and  Heathcote  Hill  —  that  some  of  the  great 
trees  which  waved  their  green  leafage  above  him 
lingering  here  with  sweetheart  or  bride  yet  shade 
the  grounds,  but  the  household  that  welcomed 
him  and  gave  him  a  beloved  daughter  lie  in  a 
little  grass-grown  cemetery  near  to  this  old  home. 
Mrs.  Cooper  had  a  sweet,  gracious  way  of  guid- 

[  68  ] 


ing  by  affection  her  husband,  and  he  gave  her 
his  heart's  devotion  through  the  forty  years  of 


HEATHCOTE  HILL. 


their  happily  mated  life.  Cooper  and  his  young 
bride  began  life  by  playing  a  game  of  chess  be 
tween  the  ceremony  and  supper.  Then,  he  driv 


ing  two  horses  tandem,  they  made  their  wedding 
journey  to  Cooperstown  in  a  gig.  His  furlough 
ended  a  few  months  later,  and  to  please  his 

[  69  ] 


COOPER'S  FENIMORE  FARM  HOUSE. 

wife,  he  resigned  in  May  from  the  navy.  Long 
afterwards  he  wrote,  "  She  confesses  she  would 
never  have  done  for  Lady  Collingwood."  For 
a  year  or  more  Cooper  and  his  wife  lived  with 
her  father  at  Heathcote  Hill,  Mamaroneck,  New 
York,  and  afterwards  in  a  near-by  cottage  on 
the  "  Neck,"  which  Cooper  named  "  Closet  Hall  " 
because  it  was  so  small,  and  he  described  it  as 
the  home  of  the  Littlepage  family  in  "  Satanstoe." 
Only  two  old  willows  remain  of  the  group  that 
almost  concealed  Cooper's  wee  house,  now  en 
tirely  rebuilt,  and  they  named  the  place  as  the 
home  of  Alice  B.  Havens,  who  wrote  here  some 
of  her  poems  and  stories  —  so  Dr.  Wolfe  writes 
of  Closet  Hall.  After  some  brief  housekeeping 


in  this  "  wee  home,"  the  young  people  again 
made  a  part  of  the  family  at  Heathcote  Hill, 
where  they  lived  until  1814.  Then,  with  the 
two  little  girls  born  to  them,  they  went  for  a 
short  time  to  Cooperstown,  and  thence  to  their 
Fenimore  farm  of  some  one  hundred  and  fifty 
acres  along  Otsego's  southwestern  shores.  "  On 
a  rising  knoll  overlooking  lake  and  village  a 
handsome  stone  house  was  begun  for  their  life 
home."  The  near-by  hill,  called  Mount  Ovis, 
pastured  the  Merino  sheep  which  he  brought  into 
the  country.  He  loved  his  gardening,  and  was 
active  for  the  public  good,  serving  as  secretary 
of  the  county  Agricultural  Society,  and  also  of 
the  Otsego  County  Bible  Society.  In  the  full 
flush  of  youth  and  its  pleasures  there  were  the 
pleasant  diversions  of  driving,  riding,  and  row 
ing.  So  lived  flute-playing  Cooper,  brave  and 
handsome,  at  twenty-five. 

Cooper's  mother  was  then  living  with  her  older 
sons  at  Otsego  Hall,  and  it  is  recorded  that  "  she 
took  great  delight  in  flowers,  and  the  end  of  the 
long  hall  was  like  a  green-house,  in  her  time  " ; 
that  "she  was  a  great  reader  of  romances;  a 
marvelous  housekeeper,  and  beautifully  nice  and 
neat  in  her  arrangements:  her  flower-garden  at 


the  south  of  the  house  was  considered  something 
wonderful  in  variety  of  flowers."  Between  her 
Old-Hall  home  and  the  families  of  her  children, 
-  Richard's  on  "  Apple  Hill,"  Isaac's  at  "  Edge- 
water,"  Nancy's  at  the  "  Old  Stone  House,"  and 
James's  at  "  Fenimore,"  -  these  years  were  full 
of  charm  and  interest  for  them  all,  which  later 
became  sweet  and  enduring  memories.  Sadness 
crept  in,  through  the  loss  of  James's  daughter 
Elizabeth ;  but  two  more  came  to  lift  this  shadow 
in  the  Fenimore  home. 

In  1817  Cooper  and  his  young  family  started 
for  a  few  month's  visit  to  Heathcote  Hill,  and 
later  in  this  year  he  lost  his  mother.  As  the 
stone  house,  then  building  at  Fenimore,  burned 
down  in  1823,  the  land  was  sold  later,  and  the 
few  months'  expected  absence  grew  into  seven 
teen  years.  Perhaps  it  was  this  thread  of  loss 
added  to  his  wife's  wishes  that  led  Cooper  to 
build  a  country  home  on  the  Scarsdale  farm,  - 
a  portion  of  the  de  Lancey  estate,  which  came 
to  Mrs.  Cooper  after  her  marriage.  Here  he 
built  the  picturesque  home  in  which  his  literary 
career  began.  "  Nothing  that  Cooper  knew  re 
mains  excepting  the  superb  land  and  water 
view,"  which  drew  him  to  place  this  home  of  his 

[  72  ] 


COOPER'S  ANGEVINE  FARM  HOME. 

there,  and  he  has  pictured  mile  upon  mile  of  the 
shimmering,  sail-dotted  Sound  in  scenes  of  his 
'  Water  Witch."  It  is  of  record  that  the  win 
dows  of  the  room  in  which  he  wrote  "  Precau 
tion,"  *  The  Spy,"  and  "  The  Pioneers  "  over 
looked  this  enchanting  vista  which  then  and  later 
claimed  place  in  his  books.  It  was  four  miles 
from  Mamaroneck  and  some  twenty-five  from 
New  York  City.  The  height  on  which  the  new 
house  stood  was  called  Angevine,  from  a  former 
Huguenot  tenant.  It  gave  a  glorious  view  over 

[  74  ] 


miles  of  fine  wooded  country,  with  a  broad  reach 
of  Long  Island  Sound  beyond,  over  which  were 
moving  white,  glittering  sails  "  a  sailor's  eye 
loves  to  follow."  Of  active  habits  and  vigorous 
health,  Cooper  threw  himself  with  almost  boyish 
eagerness  into  the  improvement  and  beautifying 
of  this  homestead,  —  planning  the  barn,  building 
the  then  new  zigzag,  ha-ha  fence,  watching  the 
growth  of  shrubs  and  trees  that  he  had  trans 
planted,  and  with  cheering  talk  lightening  the 
labors  of  his  workmen. 

''  In  1818  Cooper  was  made  paymaster,  and 
in  the  next  year  quartermaster  in  the  Fourth 
Division  of  Infantry,  New  York  State  Militia. 
As  Governor  Clinton's  aid,  in  blue  and  buff  uni- 


MAMARONECK  CREEK  SLOOPS. 

[  75  ] 


form,  cocked  hat,  and  sword,  and  title  of  colonel, 
he  would  go  to  reviews  on  his  favorite  horse, 
'  Bull-head.'  " 

At  that  time  each  village  on  the  Sound  had 
its  sloop  which  carried  the  farmer's  produce 
thrice  a  \veek  through  the  perils  of  Hell  Gate 
to  Fulton  market,  and  brought  back  tea,  sugar, 
cloth,  calicoes,  and  silks,  and,  perchance,  some 
volume  fresh  from  the  London  press,  —  a  bit  of 
Byron's  brilliance,  a  romance  from  the  unknown 
author  of  "  Waverley,"  one  of  Miss  Edgeworth's 
charming  tales,  or  the  more  serious  religious 
work  of  Wilberforce  —  which  had  "  arrived  by 
packet-ship  from  England "  -  the  next  day's 
papers  would  announce.  Lucky  was  thought  the 
household  that  could  first  cut  the  pages  of  the 
new  print. 

Reading,  which  always  enters  so  naturally 
into  country  life,  made  pleasant  their  even 
ing  hours  and  rainy  days  at  Angevine.  Mr. 
Cooper  was  a  fine  reader.  His  voice  was  deep, 
clear,  and  expressive,  and  during  those  quiet 
country  evenings  he  often  read  aloud  to  one  "  who 
listened  with  affectionate  interest  through  a  long 
life,"  and  he  read  to  her  with  special  pleasure. 
For  Shakespeare  he  was  always  ready.  Pope, 

[  76  ] 


Thompson,  and  Gray  were  also  in  favor,  but  not 
more  than  a  page  or  two  at  a  time  of  Milton. 
He  thought  that  Shakespeare  should  have  writ 
ten   "  Paradise  Lost."      "  He  took  the  greatest 
delight    in    the    k  Waverley '    novels,    and   never 
doubted  they  were  written  by  Walter  Scott,  the 
poet.     On  one  occasion  a  new  novel  chanced  to 
lie  on  the  table  and  he  was  asked  to  read  it.    The 
title  and  look  of  the  book  were  not  to  his  taste ; 
he  opened  it,   however,   and  began.      Suddenly, 
after  reading  through  a  few  pages,  it  was  thrown 
aside   in   disgust :    '  I    can   write   a   better   book 
than  that  myself!  '  was  his  exclamation."     Mrs. 
Cooper  laughed  at  the  absurd  idea  that  he,  who 
disliked  writing  even   a   letter,   should   write   a 
book,  and  playfully  challenged  him  to  make  good 
his  word;    and  when  urged  to  begin,  he  at  once 
outlined   a   tale   of   English   high-life.      As   the 
story  grew,  the  writer  became  interested,  and  be 
fore  long  the  first  pages  of  Cooper's  first  book, 
"  Precaution,  or  Prevention  is  Better  than  Cure," 
were  written.    When  finished,  much  to  his  amaze 
ment,  Mrs.  Cooper  further  urged  him  to  publish 
it ;   so,  with  the  manuscript,  they  set  out  in  their 
gig  to  seek  counsel  of  the  Jays  at  Bedford,  and 
other  friends,  who  approved.     "One  lady,  not 

[  77  ] 


in  the  secret,  felt  sure  she  had  read  it  before." 
It  was  published,  without  the  author's  name, 
August  25,  1820,  and  was  credited  to  an  Eng 
lish  woman.  A.  T.  Goodrich,  the  publisher,  sur 
prised  the  public  by  declaring  it  the  work  of  an 
American  gentleman  of  New  York.  It  was  soon 
republished  in  England,  and  clainied  the  atten 
tion  usually  accorded  that  style  of  book  in  its 
day.  Whatever  of  its  worth,  the  work  had 
awakened  Cooper's  powers;  and  its  modest  suc 
cess  in  a  field  new  to  him  led  his  friends  to  urge 
him  to  write  on  subjects  that  were  in  near  touch 
with  his  daily  life.  None  knew  better  than  he 
the  frontier  and  sea-faring  life  of  his  own  and 

[  78  ] 


earlier  times.  So,  then,  for  home-country  sub 
jects,  and  thinking  it  would  he  his  last  attempt, 
he  exclaimed,  "  I  will  write  another  book!  "  and 
soon  decided  on  patriotism  as  its  motif.  At  this 
period  many  were  the  visits  to  Judge  Jay's  West- 
chester  home  at  Bedford.  The  house,  part  of 
wood  and  part  of  stone,  had  a  spacious,  comfort 
able  piazza  along  its  front.  The  interior  had 
more  of  cheerfulness  than  of  elegance,  but  a 
great  air  of  abundance,  and  was  a  peaceful  shel 
ter  for  the  waning  days  of  that  eminent  states 
man  and  patriot.  Of  this  household  Cooper 
wrote  later :  "  I  scarcely  remember  to  have  min 
gled  with  any  family  where  there  was  a  more 
happy  union  of  quiet  decorum  and  high  courtesy 


BEDFORD  HOUSE. 

[  79  1 


than  I  met  with  beneath  the  roof  of  Mr.  Jay." 
To  no  place  more  fitting  than  his  wistaria-cov 
ered  library  could  Cooper  have  gone  for  patriotic 
inspiration.  The  venerable  Judge,  as  he  smoked 


THE  LIBRARY  AT  BEDFORD  HOUSE. 

his  long  clay  pipe,  used  to  delight  in  telling  an 
ecdotes  of  the  Revolution,  "  the  truth  of  which," 
he  said,  "  never  had  been  and  never  would  be 
written." 

One  summer  afternoon,  while  sitting  on  his 
broad  piazza  under  the  lindens,  Cooper,  with 
others,  listened  to  the  Judge's  recital  of  the  story 
of  a  spy's  great  struggles  and  unselfish  loyalty 
while  serving  his  country  in  the  American  Revo 
lution,  and  the  story  gave  Cooper  an  idea  for 
his  "  Harvey  Birch."  The  fact  that  strolling 

[  80  ] 


peddlers,  staff  in  hand  and  pack  on  back,  were 
common  visitors  then  at  country  houses,  became 
another  aid.  k  It  was  after  such  a  visit  of  a 
Yankee  peddler  of  the  old  sort,  to  the  cottage 
at  Angevine,  that  Harvey's  lot  in  life  was  de 
cided  —  he  was  to  be  a  spy  and  a  peddler."  It 
was  something  to  the  author's  after  regret  that 
he  drew  the  dignity  of  George  Washington  into 
the  "  Harper  "  of  this  story. 

"  The  entire  country  between  the  Americans 
on  the  skirts  of  the  Highlands  and  the  British 
on  Manhattan  —  or  '  the  Neutral  Ground  ' 
suffered  more  in  harried  skirmishes,  pillage,  vio 
lence,  fire,  and  the  taking  of  life  itself,  than  any 
of  its  extent  during  this  strife."  Scarsdale  and 
Mamaroneck  were  in  this  region,  with  White 

•      >• 


HARVEY  BIRCH'S  CAVE. 
[  81   ] 


Plains  close  by.  Fort  Washington  was  on  a 
near  height,  and  Dobb's  Ferry  a  few  miles  off. 
'  The  Coopers'  daily  drive  from  Angevine  dis 
covered  a  pretty  thicket,  some  swampy  land,  and 
a  cave  in  which  to  hide  the  loyal,  to  be  fed  by 
friendly  hands  at  night  until  escape  was  possible. 
There  were  also  at  hand  the  gloomy  horrors  of 
a  haunted  wood  where  gliding  ghosts  fought 
midnight  battles  "  -  all  of  this  the  farmers  knew 
and  could  tell  of,  too.  One  of  them,  "  Uncle 
John,"  lived  just  below  the  home  hill  in  a  wee 
cot  of  four  walls,  each  of  a  different  color  —  red, 
yellow7,  brown,  and  white.  He  frequently  came 
up  the  Angevine-home  hill  to  tell,  between  his 
apples,  nuts,  and  glasses  of  cider,  tales  of  what 
he,  too,  knew,  to  a  good  listener,  —  the  master 
of  the  house.  Then  there  was  "  Major  Brom  B., 
a  hero  of  the  great  war,  with  his  twenty-seven 
martial  spirits,  all  uniformed  in  silver  gray,  his 
negro  Bonny  and  his  gun,  *  the  Bucanneer,'  had 
not  its  fellow  on  the  continent."  These  were  all 
aids,  and  sources  of  unfailing  interest  about  the 
many  Westchester  chimney  firesides  of  that  day. 
In  his  "  Literary  Haunts  and  Homes,"  Dr.  Theo 
dore  F.  Wolfe  tells  of  a  fine,  old-time  home, 
beyond  the  valley  below  Cooper's  Angevine  farm, 

[  82  ] 


where  he  placed  many  an  exciting  scene  of  this 
coming  tale.  In  1899  Dr.  Wolfe  notes  the  house 
as  changed,  only  by  a  piazza  across  its  front, 


THE  LOCUSTS  OF  COOPER'S  TIME  AND  OF  TO-DAY. 

from  the  days  when  Cooper  knew  it  well,  and 
that  it  was  pleasantly  shaded  by  many  of  the 
fine,  tall  trees  that  gave  it  the  name  of  ''The 
Locusts,"  which  it  kept  in  his  story  as  the  home 
of  the  Whartons.  The  descendants  of  the  family 
he  used  to  visit  still  live  there,  and  one  of  them 
showed  Dr.  Wolfe  all  that  was  left  of  "  The 
Four  Corners/1  Betty  Flanigan's  hotel,  whence 
Harvey  Birch,  Cooper's  hero,  escaped  in  Betty's 
petticoats.  Cooper  made  these  familiar  scenes 
of  southern  New  York  the  background  of  his 
second  book,  "  The  Spy,  a  Tale  of  the  Neutral 
Ground,"  which  also  was  published,  without  the 

[  83  ] 


author's  name,  December  22,  1821.  Its  success 
called  for  a  new  edition  the  following  March, 
and  its  translation  into  many  foreign  tongues. 
Of  Cooper's  "  Betty  Flanigan  "  Miss  Edgeworth 
declared,  "  An  Irish  pen  could  not  have  drawn 
her  better."  Except  Irving' s  "  Sketch  Book," 
his  "  Knickerbocker's  History  of  New  York," 
and  Bryant's  thin  volume  of  eight  poems,  there 
were  few  books  by  native  writers  when  "  The 
Spy  "  appeared;  and  "  then  it  was  that  the  new 
world  awakened  to  the  surprising  discovery  of 
her  first  American  novelist.  The  glory  that 
Cooper  justly  won  was  reflected  on  his  country, 
of  whose  literary  independence  he  was  the  pio 
neer.  'The  Spy'  had  the  charm  of  reality;  it 
tasted  of  the  soil."  While  the  American  press 
was  slow  to  admit  the  merit  of  "The  Spy,"  a 
cordial  welcome  was  given  the  book  in  "The 
Port  Folio."  It  was  written  by  Mrs.  Sarah  Hall, 
.mother  of  the  editor,  and  author  of  "  Conversa 
tions  on  the  Bible."  This  act  of  timely  kindness 
Cooper  never  forgot.  June  30,  1822,  Washington 
Irving,  from  London,  wrote  Mr.  John  E.  Hall, 
the  editor:  "  '  The  Spy  '  is  extremely  well  spoken 
of  by  the  best  circles,  —  not  a  bit  better  than  it 
deserves,  for  it  does  the  author  great  credit." 

[  84  ] 


TITLE-PAGE  OF  THE  FIRST  EDITION  OF  "THE  SPY. 


In  1826,  when  u  The  Spy  "  was  before  the  foot 
lights  in  Lafayette  Theatre,  on  Broadway,  near 
Canal  Street,  Enoch  Crosby,  the  supposed  origi- 


(D^< 


nal  spy,  appeared  in  a  box  with  friends,  and 
"  was  given  thunders  of  applause."  From  "  Por 
traits  of  Cooper's  Heroines,"  by  the  Rev.  Ralph 
Birdsall  of  Cooperstown,  is  gleaned:  On  the 
walls  of  the  Newport  home  of  the  Rev.  John 
Cornell  hang  two  old  portraits  that  have  close 
connection  with  the  inner  history  of  "  The  Spy.'* 
To  their  present  owner  they  came  from  the  New 
York  home  of  his  mother,  the  late  Mrs.  Isaac 

[  86  ] 


LAFAYETTE  THEATRE. 

Cornell,  and  to  her  they  came  from  the  Somer- 
ville,  New  Jersey,  home  of  her  father,  Mr. 
Richard  Bancker  Duyckinck,  who  in  his  turn  re 
ceived  them  from  his  aunt,  Mrs.  Peter  Jay,  - 
the  subject  of  one  of  these  portraits  and  at  one 
time  mistress  of  the  Jay  mansion  at  Rye.  Over 
one  hundred  years  ago  it  was  that,  from  the 
walls  of  this  rare  old  home  at  Rye,  West- 
chester  County,  the  grace  of  these  ladies  on  can 
vas  caught  James  Cooper's  thought  to  use  them, 
by  description,  in  his  coming  book,  "  The  Spy." 
Chapter  XIII  describes  closely  the  personal  ap- 

[  87  1 


pearance  and  style  of  dress  of  these  portraits. 
6  Jeanette  Peyton,"  the  maiden  aunt  of  Cooper's 
story,  owes  her  mature  charm  to  the  portrait  of 
Mary  Duyckinck,  wife  of  Peter  Jay.  From  the 
"  cap  of  exquisite  lawn  and  lace/1  her  gown  of 
rich  silk,  short  sleeves  and  "  large  ruffles  "  of 
lace  which  with  "  the  experience  of  forty  years," 
also  veiled  her  shoulders,  to  the  triple  row  of 
large  pearls  about  her  throat,  —  all  these  details 
are  found  in  Cooper's  text-picture  of  Jeanette 
Peyton.  His  "  Sarah  Wharton  "  no  less  closely 
follows  the  portrait  of  Mrs.  Jay's  older  sister, 
Sarah  Duyckinck,  who  became  Mrs.  Richard 
Bancker.  Her  name  Sarah  may  have  been  given 
purposely  to  Sarah  Wharton  of  Cooper's  story. 
Cooper  was  thirty-two  when  it  was  written,  and 
it  is  not  unlikely  that  Mrs.  Jay,  then  eighty-five 
years  of  age,  was  pleased  with  this  delicate  trib 
ute  the  young  novelist  paid  to  the  beauty  of  her 
own  and  her  sister's  youth. 

Four  daughters  and  a  son  now  shared  the 
author's  home  life,  and  in  order  to  place  his 
little  girls  in  a  school  and  be  near  his  publishers, 
Cooper  rented  a  modest  brick  house  on  Broad 
way,  across  the  street  from  Niblo's  Garden,  near 
No.  585,  Astor's  home,  which  was  a  grand  resort 

[  83  ] 


of  Halleck  and  Irving,  who  wrote  there  a  part 
of  his  "  Life  of  Washington."     Cooper's  house 


WINDHURST'S  NOOK,  UNDER  THE  PARK  THEATRE. 

was  just  above  Prince  Street --then  almost  out 
of  town. 

The  modern  club  being  then  unknown,  the 
brilliant  men  of  the  day  met  in  taverns,  and 
there  talked  of  "  everything  under  the  starry 
scope  of  heaven."  In  the  i82o's  there  was  Ed 
ward  Windhurst's  famous  nook  under  the  side 
walk  below  Park  Theatre,  where  Edmund  Kean, 
Junius  Brutus  Booth,  Cooper,  Morris,  Willis,  and 
Halleck  made  gay  and  brilliant  talk. 

In  the  "  Life  and  Letters  of  Fitz-greene  Hal 
leck,"  by  General  James  Grant  Wilson,  it  appears 
that  Cooper  was  warmly  attached  to  Halleck 

[  90  ] 


JAMES  FENIMORE   COOPER,   1822.     From  a  photograph  of  the  J.  W. 
Jarvis  portrait. 


since  1815,  when  they  first  met.  Fitz-greene  Hal- 
leek  is  credited  with  taking  Cooper's  earliest 
books  to  Europe  in  1822  and  finding  a  London 
publisher  for  them.  The  novelist  called  his  friend 


FITZ-GREENE  HALLECK.  JOSEPH  RODMAN  DRAKE. 

"  The  Admirable  Croaker,"  on  account  of  a  series 
of  amusing  and  satirical  verses  written  by  Hal- 
leek  and  Drake  and  published  over  the  signa 
ture  of  "  Croaker  and  Co./'  in  the  public  press 
of  that  day.  Into  this  atmosphere  of  charm  came 
delightful  and  delighting  Joseph  Rodman  Drake, 
with  his  "  six  feet  two  "  of  splendid  youth ;  he 
was  thought  by  some  "  the  handsomest  man  in 
New  York."  From  out  this  brilliant  group 
comes  the  record  that  "  '  Culprit  Fay/  written  in 

[  92  1 


CRO'  NEST. 

August,  1816,"  says  Halleck,  "  came  from 
Cooper,  Drake,  DeKay,  and  Halleck,  speaking 
of  Scottish  streams  and  their  inspiration  for 
poetry.  Cooper  and  Halleck  thought  our  Amer 
ican  rivers  could  claim  no  such  tribute  of  ex 
pression.  Drake  differed  from  his  friends  and 
made  good  his  stand  by  producing  in  three  days 
'  The  Culprit  Fay  '  from  the  Highlands  of  the 
Hudson ;  but,"  is  added,  "  the  Sound  from 
Hunt's  Point,  his  familiar  haunt  of  salt  water, 
made  his  inspiration." 

To  the  City  Hotel  came  Morris  again  with 
Dana,  Cooper,  and  his  friend,  Samuel  Wood- 
worth,  author  of  "  The  Old  Oaken  Bucket  "  - 

[  93  1 


SAMUEL  WOODWORTH. 


THE  OLD  OAKEN  BUCKET. 


to  plan  "  The  Mirror/'  in  1823.  The  story  of 
the  old  song's  writing-  is:  At  noon  on  a  sum 
mer's  day  in  1817  Woodworth,  whose  pen-name 
was  *  Selim,"  walked  home  to  dinner  from  his 
office  at  the  foot  of  Wall  Street.  Being  very 
warm,  he  drank  a  glass  of  water  from  his  pump, 
and  after  drinking  it  said,  "  How  much  more 
refreshing  would  be  a  draught  from  the  old 
bucket  that  hung  in  my  father's  well !  "  Then 
his  wife  —  whom  the  poet  called  his  inspiration 
-  exclaimed,  "  Why,  Selim,  would  n't  that  be  a 
pretty  subject  for  a  poem?"  Thus  urged,  he 
began  writing  at  once,  and  in  an  hour's  time 
finished  the  heart-stirring  song  so  well  known  as 

[  94  ] 


'The  Old  Oaken  Bucket."  At  this  City  Hotel 
Cooper  himself  in  1824  founded  "  The  Bread 
and  Cheese  Club  "  -  so  named  because  member 
ship  was  voted  for  with  bits  of  bread,  and  against 
with  bits  of  cheese.  He  called  it  the  "  Lunch." 
Later  on,  the  "  Lunch,  or  Cooper's  Club,"  met 
in  Washington  Hall,  corner  of  Broadway  and 
Chambers  Street.  Among-  its  distinguished  mem 
bers  were  Chancellor  Kent,  DeKay,  naturalist, 
King,  later  president  of  Columbia  College,  the 
authors  Verplanck,  Bryant,  and  Halleck,  Morse 
the  inventor,  the  artists  Durand  and  Jarvis,  and 
Wiley  the  publisher.  They  met  Thursday  even 
ings,  each  member  in  turn  caring  for  the  supper, 
always  cooked  to  perfection  by  Abigail  Jones  - 
an  artist  of  color,  in  that  line.  It  was  at  one 
of  these  repasts  that  Bryant  "  was  struck  with 
Cooper's  rapid,  lively  talk,  keen  observation, 
knowledge,  and  accurate  memory  of  details." 
Said  he :  '  I  remember,  too,  being  somewhat 
startled,  coming  as  I  did  from  the  seclusion  of 
a  country  life,  with  a  certain  emphatic  frank 
ness  of  manner,  which,  however,  I  came  at  last 
to  like  and  admire."  Many  an  attractive  page 
might  be  written  of  these  talks  with  Mathews, 
rambles  with  DeKay,  and  daily  chats  with  his 

[  95  ] 


old  messmates  of  the  sea,  and  this  "  Bread  and 
Cheese  Club."  Cooper  was  scarcely  in  France 
before  he  sent  frequent  missives  to  his  friends 
at  the  club  to  be  read  at  their  weekly  meetings; 
but  it  "  missed  its  founder,  went  into  a  decline, 
and  not  long  afterward  quietly  expired."  Gen 
eral  Wilson  says  that  it  was  at  Wiley's,  corner  of 
Wall  and  New  Streets,  in  a  small  back  room 
christened  by  Cooper  "  The  Den  "  -  which  ap 
peared  over  the  door  —  that  he  first  met  "  The 
Idle  Man,"  R.  H.  Dana.  Here  Cooper  was  in 
the  habit  of  holding  forth  to  an  admiring  audi 
ence,  much  as  did  Christopher  North  about  the 
same  time  in  "  Blackwood's "  back  parlor  in 
George  Street,  Edinburgh. 

John  Bartlett's  Bookshop,  too,  —  "  a  veritable 
treasury  of  literary  secrets,"  -  in  the  new  Astor 
House,  became  a  haunt  for  the  bookmen  of  its 
times.  Cooper  was  fond  of  the  society  of  lit 
erary  men  when  he  could  meet  them  as  men,  and 
not  as  lions.  He  once  said:  "You  learn  noth 
ing  about  a  man  when  you  meet  him  at  a  show 
dinner  and  he  sits  up  to  talk  for  you  instead  of 
talking  with  you.  When  I  was  in  London  Words 
worth  came  to  town,  and  I  was  asked  to  meet 
him  at  one  of  those  displays;  but  I  would  not 

[  96  ] 


: 


**L 
,-  j 


1 


go."  Then  Mrs.  Cooper  said :  "  But  you  met 
him  afterwards,  my  dear,  and  was  very  much 
pleased  with  him."  To  this  Cooper  replied: 
"  Yes,  at  Rogers',  and  ze(a.9  very  much  pleased 
with  him;  but  it  was  because  I  met  him  in  a 
place  where  he  felt  at  home,  and  he  let  himself 
out  freely." 

After  some  stay  on  Broadway,  Cooper  moved 
his  family  to  their  Beach  Street  abode.  Some 
twenty  paces  from  Hudson  it  stood,  —  a  brick 
house  of  many  attractions  in  the  wrought  iron 
railings,  marble  steps,  arched  doorway,  high 
ceilings,  with  heavy,  ornate  mouldings,  massive 
oaken  doors,  and  Venetian  blinds  of  the  deep 
windows.  Spacious  and  inviting  was  this  city 

[  98  ] 


home   during  the    i82o's, 
in    the     fashionable    dis 
trict    of    St.    John's.      In 
I   April,    1823,   while  living 
I   here,  Cooper  was  made  a 
member     of     the     Phila 
delphia  Philosophical  So 
ciety.       August     of     this 
year  he  lost  his  first  son, 

-  the   youngest   child,  - 
Fenimore;     and   he   him 
self   went   through   a    se 
rious   illness,   brought  on 
bv  an  accident :    "  On  re- 


No.  3  BEACH  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


ST.  JOHN'S  CHAPEL. 


t  99  ] 


turning  from  a  New  Bedford  visit  his  carriage 
broke  down,  and  always  glad  to  be  afloat,  he 
took  passage  in  a  sloop  for  New  York.  Being 
anxious  to  reach  home,  when  the  wind  began 
to  fail,  and  to  make  the  most  of  the  tide,  he  took 
the  helm  and  steered  the  little  craft  himself 
through  Hell  Gate.  The  day  was  very  stormy, 
and  the  trying  heat  brought  on  a  sudden  sun 
stroke-like  fever."  February  3,  1824,  his  second 
son,  Paul,  was  born. 

"  The  Spy  "  finished  and  the  glow  of  success 
upon  its  author,  he  again  resolved  "  to  try  one 
more  book."  For  this  work  his  thoughts  turned 
in  love  to  the  home  of  his  childhood,  so  closely 
associated  with  the  little  "  Lake  of  the  Fields." 
"  Green-belted  with  great  forest  trees  was  this 
'smile  of  God  '--from  Mount  Vision  dreaming 
at  its  feet,  to  the  densely  wooded  '  sleeping  lion  ' 
guarding  its  head,  nine  miles  to  the  north."  Of 
the  new  book  Cooper  frankly  said  :  '  '  The  Pio 
neers  '  is  written  exclusively  to  please  myself." 
Herein  Leatherstocking  makes  his  first  appear 
ance,  and  for  all  time,  as  Natty  Bumppo,  "  with 
his  silent  footfall  stepped  from  beneath  the 
shadows  of  the  old  pines  into  the  winter  sun 
light." 


ioo 


An  old  hunter  —  Shipman  by  name  —  often 
came  with  his  rifle  and  dogs  during  the  early 
years  of  the  new  colony,  to  offer  his  game  at 


OLD  LEATHERSTOCKING. 

William  Cooper's  door,  and  was  a  great  at 
traction  for  the  lads  of  Otsego  Hall.  A  dim 
memory  of  Shipman  served  as  an  outline  only 
for  Cooper's  creation,  "  Natty,"  as  in  strength 
and  beauty  of  character  he  came  from  the 


writer's  pen,  to  live  through  the  five  "  Leather- 
stocking  Tales,"  as  "  the  ever  familiar  friend  of 
boys."  While  Cooper  placed  no  real  character 
from  life  in  this  book,  Judge  Temple  is  accepted 
as  a  sketch  of  his  father.  The  aim  was  to  cre 
ate  a  character  from  the  class  to  which  each 
belonged.  Thus  served  brave  old  Indian  John 
as  "  Chingachgook  ";  Mr.  Grant,  the  missionary; 
and  "  Monsieur  Le  Quoi,"  the  Frenchman.  In 
"  Chronicles  of  Cooperstown  "  it  appears  that  a 
real  "  Mr.  Le  Quoy  excited  much  interest  in  the 
place,  in  being  superior  to  his  occupation  as  a 
country  grocer."  One  day  a  Mr.  Renouard,  a 
seaman,  entered  his  shop  for  some  tobacco,  and 
returned  in  a  few  minutes  agitated  and  pale, 
excitedly  asking,  "  Who  is  the  man  that  sold  me 
this  tobacco?  "  At  the  answer,  "  Mr.  Le  Quoy," 
he  replied,  "  Yes,  Mr.  Le  Quoy  de  Mesereau. 
When  I  went  to  Martinique  to  be  port-captain 
of  St.  Pierre,  this  man  was  civil  governor  of 
the  island,  and  refused  to  confirm  my  appoint 
ment."  It  was  learned  later  that  the  French 
Revolution  drove  Mr.  Le  Quoy  with  little  money 
to  a  New  York  friend,  —  a  Mr.  Murray,  —  who 
also  knew  well  Judge  Cooper,  and  they  both 
advised  this  country  store  until  peaceful  France 

[  102  ] 


could  and  did  invite  its  owner  to  return  to  his 
island  home. 

An  Indian  alarm  of  the  early-village  period 
of  1794  formed  the  opening  chapter  of  the  new 
book,  but  the  incidents  were  mainly  creations 
of  Cooper's  fancy.  Yet  the  pigeon-flights, 
Natty's  cave,  which  sheltered  Elizabeth  Temple 
from  the  forest  fire,  and  each  charming  pic 
ture  of  the  Glimmerglass  country,  are  true  to 
life.  The  academy,  court-house,  jail,  inn;  the 
'  Cricket '  -  that  famous  old  cannon  which 
sent  its  thunders  thousands  of  times  over  the 
Otsego  hills  on  days  of  rejoicing  —  are  fairly 
given."  The  old  gun  was  found  when  digging 
the  cellar  of  Judge  Cooper's  first  house,  and 


NATTY'S  CAVE. 


was  said  to  have  been  buried  by  troops  under 
Gen.  James  Clinton,  who  marched  from  Albany 
against  the  Indians  in  1779.  They  cut  their 
way  through  forests,  brought  their  boats  to 
Lake  Otsego,  and  their  headquarters  were  in 
a  log  house  built  on  the  future  site  of  the  first 
Hall.  The  place  where  was  the  old  Clinton  Dam 
is  now  marked  by  the  Daughters  of  the  Ameri 
can  Revolution  as  the  one  Cooperstown,  con 
necting  link  with  the  War  of  Independence. 

[  104  ] 


CLINTON  DAM. 

The  outward  appearance  of  the  old  Hall  is 
fairly  given  by  Cooper's  pen,  but  once  within, 
all  is  a  faithful  record,  "  even  to  the  severed 
nose  of  Wolfe,  and  the  urn  that  held  the  ashes 
of  Queen  Dido."  The  tale  was  of  a  great  land 
lord  living  among  his  settlers  on  property  bear 
ing  his  name.  The  book  was  "  The  Pioneers, 
or,  Sources  of  the  Susquehanna,"  and  "  thirty- 
five  hundred  copies  sold  before  noon  of  the  day 
it  was  published." 

It  was  of  "  The  Pioneers  "  that  Bryant  wrote : 
"  It  dazzled  the  world  by  the  splendor  of  its 
novelty." 

An  interesting  incident  of  Cooper's  kindness  of 
heart  is  of  this  date  and  some  ten  years  later  came 
to  light  as  follows :  After  his  return  from  Europe 

[  105  ] 


in  1833  he  one  day  gave  to  his  eldest  daughter 
"  a  small  book  bound  in  boards."  It  was  entitled 
'  Tales  for  Fifteen,  or,  Imagination  and  Heart  " 
by  Jane  Morgan.  He  said  to  her :  "  Dearie,  here 
is  a  little  book  that  I  wrote  for  Wiley,"  adding 
that  he  had  bought  it  at  a  news  stand  on  his  way 
home.  It  appears  "  when  Wiley  failed  a  number 
of  his  patrons  wrote  stories  and  gave  them  to 
him."  These  two  —  one  called  "  Heart  "  and  the 
other  "  Imagination  "  were  written  by  Cooper, 
but  "  curiously  enough,"  -  were  published  under 
the  pen-name  of  "  Jane  Morgan."  The  book 
is  very  rare;  only  two  copies  are  known  to  be 
in  existence. 

The  thought  of  writing  a  romance  of  the  sea 
first  came  to  Mr.  Cooper  while  dining  at  Mr. 
Charles  Wilkes',  where  the  table-talk  turned  on 
"  The  Pirate,"  just  issued  by  the  author  of 
"  Waverley."  When  his  marine  touches  were 
highly  praised  for  their  accuracy,  Cooper  held 
they  were  not  satisfactory  to  the  nautical  reader. 
His  friends  thought  more  accuracy  might  better 
please  seamen  but  would  prove  dull  reading  for 
the  general  public.  With  his  usual  spirit,  Cooper 
refused  to  be  convinced,  and  on  his  way  home 
that  evening  "  the  outlines  of  a  nautical  romance 

[  106  ] 


were  vaguely  sketched  in  his  mind " ;  but  he 
never  dreamed  it  would  become  one  of  a  series 
of  sea-stories.  "  I  must  write  one  more  book 


"  TALES  FOR  FIFTEEN,  OR  IMAGINATION  AND  HEART." 

-  a  sea  tale  -  '  he  said,  "  to  show  what  can 
be  done  in  this  way  by  a  sailor !  "  The  stir 
ring  struggles  of  the  American  Revolution  again 
enlisted  the  author's  loyal  pen-service  in  the 

[  107  ] 


character  of  that  bold  adventurer,  John  Paul 
Jones,  and  his  cruise  in  The  Ranger,  when  he 
made  his  daring  descent  upon  Whitehaven  and 


St.  Mary's  Isle,  which  suggested  to  Cooper  his 
plot  for  "  The  Pilot."  Two  ships,  a  frigate  and 
the  schooner  Ariel,  were  drawn  for  the  tale. 
During  its  writing  the  author  had  many  doubts 
of  its  success.  Friends  thought  the  sea  tame 
when  calm,  and  unpleasant  in  storms;  and  as 
to  ladies  —  the  reading  of  storms  would  surely 
make  them  seasick.  His  first  encouragement 
came  from  an  Englishman  of  taste,  though  a 
doubter  of  American  talent.  To  Cooper's  stir- 

[  108  ] 


prise,    this    authority    pronounced    his    sea    tale 
good.    Then  came  the  favorable  opinion  of  Com 
modore   Shubrick,   of  which   the  author  wrote: 
u  Anxious   to   know   what   the   effect   would  be 
on  the  public,  I  read  a  chapter  to  S—  — ,  now 
captain,  which  contained  an  account  of  a  ship 
working  off-shore   in  a  gale.     My  listener  be 
trayed  interest  as  we  proceeded,  until  he  could 
no  longer  keep  his   seat.     He  paced   the   room 
furiously  until  I  got  through,  and  just  as  I  laid 
down  the  paper  he  exclaimed :   '  It  is   all  very 
well,  but  you  have  let  your  jib  stand  too  long, 
my  fine  fellow !  '     I  blew  it  out  of  the  bolt-rope 
in  pure  spite !  "     And  thus  it  was  that  when  the 
author  "  came  beating  out  of  the  '  Devil's  Grip,' ' 
this   old   messmate   jumped   from   his    seat   and 
paced  the  floor  with  strides,  not  letting  a  detail 
escape    him.      Cooper    was    fully    satisfied    and 
accepted  the  criticism,  and  the  tale,  alive  with 
spirited  description  of  sea-action,  won  the  day. 
It  was  written  with  all  the  author's  power  and 
accuracy  of  detail.     In  "  Mr.   Gray  "  appeared 
John    Paul    Jones,    while    "  Long   Tom    Coffin " 
was    said    to    be    Mr.    Irish,    the    mate    of    the 
Stirling,   in   which   the   lad   "  Cooper   made   his 
voyage  before-the-mast."     Of  this  mate  and  the 

[  109  ] 


Yankees  the  author  wrote:  "He  too  was  from 
Nantucket,  and  was  a  prime  fellow,  and  fit  to 
command  a  ship."  Prof.  Brander  Matthews 
calls  this  simple-hearted  cockswain  and  Natty 
Bumppo  "  co-heirs  of  time."  The  famous  fifth 
chapter  of  "  The  Pilot  "  was  the  first  fiction  to 
show  that  "  a  master  of  the  sea  tale  had  come 
into  the  world,  and  it  has  never  been  surpassed 
in  literature  of  the  sea."  This,  the  third  of 
Cooper's  novels,  wron  for  him  his  greatest  popu 
larity.  It  was  dedicated  to  William  Branford 
Shubrick,  United  States  Navy  —  the  author's 
loyal  friend  since  their  days  together  on  the 
Wasp,  in  1809.  Its  inscription  reads  in  part: 
"  My  Dear  Shubrick  —  by  your  old  Messmate, 
the  Author."  A  few  days  after  "The  Pilot" 
was  issued,  January,  1824,  Cooper  wrote  this 
friend :  "  I  found  Wiley  had  the  book  in  the 
hands  of  his  five  printers  —  on  my  return  — 
for  reprint.  So  much  for  our  joint  efforts." 
Concerning  "  The  Pilot  "  and  its  author,  this  ap 
peared  in  the  EdinburgJi  Review:  "  The  empire 
of  the  sea  is  conceded  to  him  by  acclamation." 

Meeting  Cooper  at  dinner  three  months  later, 
Bryant  wrote  his  wife  that  "  he  seemed  a  little 
giddy  with  the  great  success  his  works  have 

[  no  ] 


met."  Another  said:  "What  wonder  that  the 
hearty,  breezy  author  of  '  The  Spy/  '  The  Pio 
neers/  and  '  The  Pilot/  should,  by  a  certain 
'  emphatic  frankness  of  manner/  have  somewhat 
startled  the  shy,  retiring,  country  poet  who  had 
not  yet  found  his  place  on  The  Evening  Post!  " 
Later,  in  1824,  to  Richard  Henry  Dana's  newsy 
letter  about  Cooper's  foreign  standing,  Bryant 
replies:  "What  you  tell  me  of  the  success  of 
our  countryman,  Cooper,  in  England,  is  an  omen 
of  good  things.  I  hope  it  is  the  breaking  of 
a  bright  day  for  American  literature."  Bryant's 
memorial  address  after  Cooper's  death  remains 


LONG  TOM  COFFIN. 


a  splendid  record  of  their  unclouded  friendship, 
based  on  mutual  respect.  It  was  delivered  at 
Metropolitan  Hall,  in  New  York  City,  February 
25,  1852.  The  occasion  was  honored  by  the 
presence  of  the  most  brilliant  men  of  the  time. 
Daniel  Webster  presided,  assisted  by  William 
Cullen  Bryant,  and  Washington  Irving.  At 
that  time  these  three  men  were  made  the  sub 
jects  of  a  pencil  sketch  by  Daniel  Huntington. 

Mr.  George  Palmer  Putnam  thus  describes  a 
meeting  between  Irving  and  Cooper,  after  the 
latter's  return  from  Europe :  "  One  day  Mr. 
Irving  was  sitting  at  my  desk,  with  his  back  to 
the  door,  when  Mr.  Cooper  came  in  (a  little 
bustling  as  usual)  and  stood  at  the  office  en 
trance,  talking.  Mr.  Irving  did  not  turn  (for 
obvious  reasons),  and  Cooper  did  not  see  him. 
I  had  acquired  caution  as  to  introductions  with 
out  mutual  consent,  but  with  brief  thought  — 
a  sort  of  instinct  -  -  I  stoutly  obeyed  the  impulse 
of  the  moment,  and  simply  said,  '  Mr.  Cooper, 
here  is  Mr.  Irving/  The  latter  turned,  Cooper 
held  out  his  hand  cordially,  dashed  at  once  into 
an  animated  conversation,  took  a  chair,  and, 
to  my  surprise  and  delight,  the  t\vo  authors  sat 
for  an  hour,  chatting  in  their  best  manner  about 


almost  every  topic  of  the  day  and  former  days; 
and   Mr.    Irving  afterwards   frequently   alluded 


BRYANT,  WEBSTER  AND  IRVING. 

to  the  incident  as  being  a  very  great  gratifica 
tion  to  him.  Not  many  months  afterwards,  he 
sat  on  the  platform  and  joined  in  Bryant's  trib 
ute  to  the  genius  of  the  departed  novelist. 

September  18,  1851,  Irving  wrote:  "  The 
death  of  Fenimore  Cooper  is  an  event  of  deep 
and  public  concern.  To  me  it  comes  with  a 
shock;  for  it  seems  but  the  other  day  that  I 
saw  him  at  Putnam's,  in  the  full  vigor  of  mind 
and  body,  '  a  very  castle  of  a  man/  He  left 
a  space  in  our  literature  which  will  not  be  easily 


supplied.     I  shall  not  fail  to  attend  the  proposed 


meeting. 


It  is  recorded  that  "  Yale  never,  in  later  years, 
saw  fit  to  honor  herself  by  giving  Cooper  his 
degree,  but  Columbia,  in  this  instance  more  in 
telligent  than  either  Harvard  or  Yale,  in  1824, 
conferred  on  the  author  the  honorary  degree 
of  A.M." 

When,  in  1824,  General  Lafayette,  as  the 
Nation's  guest,  landed  from  the  Cadmus  at 
Castle  Garden,  Mr.  Cooper  made  one  of  the 
active  committee  of  welcome  and  entertainment. 
Of  his  part  in  the  Castle-Garden  ball,  and  his 
enthusiasm,  a  friend  wrote :  "  After  working 
hard  all  day  in  preparations  and  all  night  in 
carrying  them  out,  towards  dawn  he  went  to  the 
office  of  his  friend  Charles  King  and  wrote  out 
a  full  and  accurate  report,  which  appeared  in 
Mr.  King's  paper  the  next  day."  Concerning 
this  famous  Castle-Garden  ball,  Cooper  himself 
wrote :  "  A  tall  spar  was  raised  in  the  center, 
a  vast  awning  of  sail-cloth  covered  the  whole, 
which  was  concealed  by  flags  that  gave  a  soft, 
airy  finish  —  all  flooded  by  lights.  Music  of  the 
national  air  hailed  Lafayette's  arrival.  The 
brilliant  throngs  and  gay  dancers  over  the  floor 


fell  into  line  like  a  charm,  forming  a  lane, 
through  which  the  old  man  passed,  giving  and 
receiving  warm  and  affectionate  salutations  at 
every  step  to  the  small  marquee  in  the  midst, 


THE  LANDING  OF  LAFAYETTE,  1824. 

prepared  for  the  '  Guest  of  the  Nation.'  He 
was  like  a  father  among  his  children."  In 
various  other  ways  Cooper  paid  tributes  of 
courtesy  to  General  Lafayette  during  this  visit 
to  America. 

As  the  three  successful  books  which  the  author 
had  now  written  dealt  with  the  strength  and 
struggles  of  liberty-loving  Americans  for  their 
new  country,  his  wide  sense  of  justice  suggested 
writing  on  loyalty  from  the  other  point  of  view 
-  the  Mother  Country's  —  as  held  by  men  of 


birth  and  honor.  This  loyalty  to  England 
Cooper  made  the  subject  of  his  next  book.  It 
was  a  dangerous  venture,  and  a  time  too  near 


'•V'X'JKffi'JZ' ' 


•  •   •••VVxwsnraj 


ra 


LAFAYETTE  AND  THE  BRAND YWINE  VASE. 

the  dearly-bought  laurels  of  our  young  republic 
in  its  separation  from  England.  But  the  author 
made  every  effort  for  accuracy  on  all  points; 
he  was  tireless  in  his  study  of  history,  state 
papers,  official  reports,  almanacs,  and  weather- 
records.  A  journey  "to  Yankee  Land"  familiar- 

[  "6  ] 


ized  him  with  every  locality  he  so  faithfully 
described  in  the  pages  of  "  Lionel  Lincoln." 
"  A  Legend  of  the  Thirteen  Republics  "  was  an 
added  title  to  the  first  edition  only  (1825)  of 
"  Lionel  Lincoln,"  for  Cooper's  intention  to 


m  .,  •%- 


JOB  PRAY. 

write  a  story  of  each  of  the  thirteen  states  was 
given  up  later,  and  the  title  "  A  Narrative  of 
1775  "  took  its  place.  The  author  himself  was 
not  satisfied  with  this  work,  nor  with  the  character 
of  "  Lionel  Lincoln,"  whose  lack  of  command 
ing  interest  makes  "  Job,"  his  poor  half-witted 
brother  and  son  of  "Abigail,"  -a  tenant  of 
the  old  warehouse,  —  the  real  hero  of  the  book. 
Of  its  author,  Bancroft  the  historian  wrote: 
"  He  has  described  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill 
better  than  it  has  ever  been  described  in  any 
other  work."  Another  high  authority  says: 


TOWN. 


"  '  Lionel  Lincoln  '  certainly  gives  spirited  battle- 
pieces  —  notably  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill, 
which  is  a  masterpiece."  Rhode  Island  people 
may  care  to  know  that  a  part  of  this  book  was 
written  in  Providence,  in  the  home  of  Mr.  John 
Whipple,  which  stands  on  the  verge  of  the  old 
elm  trees  of  College  Street.  Here,  too,  Cooper 
may  have  studied  on  the  opening  scenes  of 
"The  Red  Rover." 

Early  spring  of  1825  found  Fenimore  Cooper 
in  Washington,  whence  he  wrote  :  "  I  have  just 
witnessed  one  of  the  most  imposing  ceremonies 
of  this  government;  I  allude  to  the  inaugura- 

[118  ] 


^^' -  -  ''  : ._ J0HIHIHO 

WHIPPLE  HOUSE,  AT  PROVIDENCE,  R.  I. 

tion  of  the  President  of  the  United  States/'  It 
was  that  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  who  succeeded 
James  Monroe.  Elsewhere  one  learns  that 
Cooper  had  dined  at  the  White  House;  he  gave 
a  description  of  Mrs.  Monroe  as  first  lady  of  the 
land. 

Up  to  this  year  the 
author  had  signed  his 
name  "  James  Cooper  " ; 
then,  in  remembrance  of 


PRESIDENT'S  HOUSE,  1825. 


his  mother's  wish,  he  changed  it,  and  by  the 
April,  1826,  act  of  Legislature  the  family  name 
became  Fenimore  Cooper. 

During  the  summer  of  1825  Mr.  Cooper  made 
one  of  a  party  of  young  men,  —  which  included 
also  the  Hon.  Mr.  Stanley,  afterwards  Lord 
Derby,  Prime  Minister  of  England,  and  the  Hon. 
Wortley  Montagu,  later  Lord  WharnclifTe,  in  an 
excursion  to  Saratoga  and  the  Lake  George 
country.  They  went  slowly  up  the  Hudson,  paid 
a  brief  visit  to  West  Point,  thence  to  Catskill, 
where,  like  Leatherstocking,  they  saw  "  Crea 
tion  !  "  -  as  Natty  said,  dropping  the  end  of  his 
rod  into  the  water,  and  sweeping  one  hand  around 
him  in  a  circle  —  "  all  creation,  lad."  In  the  hills 
they  saw  the  two  small  ponds,  and  the  merry 
stream  crooking  and  winding  through  the  valley 
to  the  rocks;  and  the  "  Leap  "  in  its  first  plunge 
of  two  hundred  feet :  "  It 's  a  drop  for  the  old 
Hudson,"  added  Natty.  The  Shakers  were  called 
upon  in  their  beautiful  valley  and  neat  village  at 
Lebanon;  good  dinners  were  eaten  at  friendly 
tables  in  Albany ;  and  gay  were  the  times  they  had 
in  Ballston  and  Saratoga.  Thence  to  the  Lake 
George  region,  its  wooded  heights,  islands,  crys 
tal  lakes,  silent  shores.  For  a  while  they  lingered 

[  120  ] 


SUNRISE  AT  SOUTH  MOUNTAIN. 

"  Creation  all  creation,  lad." 


with  delight,  then  turned  back  for  the  dark,  still 
caverns  in  the  heart  of  Glens  Fall.  These  cav 
erns  were,  Natty  said,  "  Two  little  holes  for  us 
to  hide  in."  He  added,  "  Falls  on  two  sides  of 


GLEN'S  FALL'S  CAVERNS. 

us,  and  the  river  above  and  below !  —  it  would 
be  worth  the  trouble  to  step  up  on  the  height 
of  this  rock  and  look  at  the  pervarcity  of  the 
water.  It  falls  by  no  rule  at  all."  Within  the 
shadows  and  silence  of  these  caverns  Mr.  Stan 
ley  suggested  to  Cooper  that  "  here  was  the  very 
scene  for  a  romance,"  and  the  author  promised 
his  friend  that  a  book  should  be  written  in 
which  these  caves  would  play  an  important  part. 
A  story  of  strong  Indian  make-up  first  came 
then  to  the  author's  mind.  Before  leaving, 
these  caverns  and  the  surrounding  country  were 
closely  examined  for  future  use. 

[  122  ] 


Besides  his  youthful  and  Lake  Ontario  expe 
riences  with  Indians,  Cooper  followed  parties  of 
them   from  Albany  to  New  York,  and  several 
times  to  Washington,  for  the  purpose  of  closely 
studying  their  natures  and  habits;    all  authori 
ties    in    print    were   consulted.      On   his    return 
home  the  book  was  begun  and  rapidly  written. 
'  Planned  beneath   the   summer   leaves,   on   the 
[  123  ] 


GLENS  FALL. 

far  shore  of  picturesque  Hell  Gate,  above  smil 
ing  fields  and  bowering  orchards  of  his  Angevine 
home,  those  leaves  had  scarcely  fallen  when  the 
story  was  told  —  '  the  most  uniformly  exciting 
and  powerful  of  his  fictions  '  -  '  The  Last  of 
the  Mohicans/  and  Natty  and  Chingachgook 
were  left  in  the  wilderness  beside  the  rude  grave 
of  Uncas."  Again  they  came  into  the  shadow  of 
the  unbroken  forest,  as  called  for  by  the  one 
friend  he  now  constantly  consulted,  —  his  faith 
ful,  loving  life-mate.  At  the  time  of  its  writ 
ing  Cooper  had  a  serious  illness,  during  which 
his  mind  was  filled  with  ideas  for  this  book. 
Suddenly  rousing  himself  one  of  these  autumn 
afternoons,  he  called  for  pen  and  paper,  but  too 
ill  to  use  them,  asked  Mrs.  Cooper,  watching 

[  124  ] 


LAKE  GEORGE,  OR  "THE  HORICAN." 

anxiously  by  his  side,  to  write  for  him.  Fear 
ing  delirium,  she  wrote,  thinking  it  would  relieve 
him.  A  page  of  notes  was  rapidly  dictated, 
which  seemed  to  his  alarmed  nurse  but  the  wild 
fancies  of  a  fevered  brain.  It  proved  to  be  a 
clear  account  of  a  lively  struggle  between 
"  Magua  "  and  "  Chingachgook,"  and  made  the 
twelfth  chapter  of  the  book.  Why  the  author 
called  Lake  George  by  another  name  is  thus 
explained:  "  Looking  over  an  ancient  map,  he 
found  that  a  tribe  of  Indians  the  French  called 
Les  Horicans  lived  by  this  beautiful  sheet  of 
water,  and  thinking  the  English  name  too  com 
monplace  and  the  Indian  name  too  hard  to  pro 
nounce,  he  chose  the  '  Horican  '  as  better  suit 
ing  simple  Natty."  This  book,  "  The  Last  of 

[  125  1 


the  Mohicans,"  proved,  perhaps,  to  be  the  most 
popular  of  all  his  works  up  to  1826. 

A  present-day  man-of-letters  writes  of  Cooper : 
"  He  paints  Indians  and  Indian  scenes  with  a 
glow  of  our  sunset  skies  and  the  crimson  of  our 
autumn  maples,  and  makes  them  alive  with  bril 
liant  color.  Rifles  crack,  tomahawks  gleam,  and 
arrows  dart  like  sunbeams  through  the  air.  In 
dians  fleet  of  foot  and  full  of  graceful  move 
ment  are  these  dusky  Apollo's  Uncas.  Cooper's 
readers  never  yawn  over  these  tales  of  the  forest 
or  the  sea.  He  is  the  swan  on  the  lake,  the 
eagle  in  the  air,  the  deer  in  the  wood,  and  the 
wind  on  the  sea/'  So  writes  Prof.  Brander 
Matthews.  That  life-student  of  the  American 
Indian,  Francis  Parkman,  wrote :  "  It  is  easy  to 
find  fault  with  '  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans,'  but 
it  is  far  from  easy  to  rival  or  even  approach 
its  excellence."  It  is  said  that  "  Magua,"  of  this 
book,  "  is  the  best-drawn  Indian  in  fiction;  from 
scalp-lock  to  moccasin  tingling  with  life  "  and 
the  tension  of  the  canoe-chase  on  the  Horican. 

During  this  Lake  George  excursion  a  question 
came  up  between  the  Hon.  Mr.  Stanley,  the  Hon. 
Wortley  Montagu,  and  Mr.  Cooper  as  to  who 
was  the  "  Premier  Baron  of  England."  Cooper 

[  126  ] 


named  Lord  Henry  William  Fitzgerald  (3rd  son 
of  James,  ist  Duke  of  Leinster)  22nd  Baron  de 
Ros  [b.  i/61-d.  1829]  as  his  man;  whose  title 
came  from  Henry  I.,  to  Peter,  Lord  of  Holder- 
ness  called  Ros.  Each  of  his  two  friends  claimed 
another  as  the  "  Premier  Baron  of  England." 
All  were  so  confident  that  a  wager  was  laid,  and 
later  inquiry  proved  Cooper  right.  In  due  time 
the  debt  was  paid  with  a  large  gold,  silver-filled 
seal.  On  its  stone  —  a  chrysoprase  —  appeared 
a  baron's  coronet  and  the  old  Scottish  proverb: 
"  He  that  will  "to  Cupar  maun  to  Cupar !  "  The 


THE  WAGER  SEAL. 


incident  serves  to  affirm  Cooper's  wide  informa 
tion  and  accurate  memory. 

[  127  ] 


This  winter  of  1825-26  Cooper  and  his  family 
made  their  home  at  345  Greenwich  Street,  not 


£«*-  --  x 


many  steps  from  92  Hudson  Street,  where  lived 
the  poet  William  Cullen  Bryant,  who  often  went 
around  the  corner  for  a  walk  with  his  friend. 

General  Wilson  wrote:  "Soon  after  Bryant 
went  to  New  York  he  met  Cooper,  who,  a  few- 
days  later,  said  :  '  Come  and  dine  with  me  to 
morrow;  I  live  at  No.  345  Greenwich  Street.' 
1  Please  put  that  down  for  me,'  said  Bryant,  '  or 
I  shall  forget  the  place/  '  Can't  you  remember 
three-four-five?  '  replied  Cooper  bluntly.  Bryant 
did  remember  '  three-four-five/  not  only  for  that 
day,  but  ever  afterward." 

[  128  ] 


During  this  spring  Cooper  followed  a  deputa 
tion  of  Pawnee  and  Sioux  Indians  from  New 
York  to  Washington,  in  order  to  make  a  close 
study  of  them  for  future  use.  He  was  much 
interested  in  the  chiefs'  stories  of  their  wild 
powers,  dignity,  endurance,  grace,  cunning  wiles, 
and  fierce  passions.  The  great  buffalo  hunts 
across  the  prairies  he  had  never  seen ;  the  fights 
of  mounted  tribes  and  the  sweeping  fires  over 
those  boundless  plains  all  claimed  his  eager  in 
terest  and  sympathy,  with  the  resulting  desire 
to  place  "  these  mounted  tribes  "  and  their  desert 
plains  beyond  the  Mississippi  in  another  Indian 
story.  One  of  the  chiefs  of  this  party  —  a  very 
fine  specimen  of  a  warrior,  a  remarkable  man 
in  every  way --is  credited  with  being  the  origi 
nal  of  "  Hard-Heart  "  of  "  The  Prairie,"  which 
an  authority  gives  as  Cooper's  favorite  book.  On 
a  knoll,  and  within  the  glory  of  a  western  sun 
set,  stood  Natty,  born  of  the  author's  mind  and 
heart,  as  he  first  appeared  in  this  book.  '  The 
aged  trapper  —  a  nobly  pathetic  figure  contrasted 
with  the  squatter  "  -  looms  up,  colossal,  against 
the  gleaming  radiance  of  departing  day;  and 
full  well  he  knows  his  own  leaving  for  the  long- 
home  is  not  far  off  -  -  for  the  remarkable  life 

[  129  ] 


of  wondrous  Leatherstocking  closes  within  these 
pages.  Of  other  characters  and  the  author  Prof. 
Matthews  savs :  "  He  was  above  all  things  a 


"NATTY,  THE  TRAPPER." 

creator  of  character.  -  -  He  can  draw  women.  — 
The  wife  of  Ishmael  Bush,  the  squatter,  mother 
of  seven  stalwart  sons  and  sister  of  a  murder 
ous  rascal,  is  an  unforgotten  portrait,  solidly 
painted  by  a  master."  "The  Prairie"  was 
begun  in  the  winter  of  1826,  in  the  New  York, 
Greenwich-Street  home,  while  Cooper  was  under 
the  weather  from  the  old  fever  effects.  The 
closing  of  his  father's  estate,  and  debts  con 
tracted  against  him  by  those  whom  he  had 

[  130  ] 


helped,  emptied  his  purse  and  left  him  a  poor 
man.  To  meet  these  calls  of  honor  and  his  own 
needs,  he  wrote  when  not  able  to  do  so,  and  for 
a  short  and  only  time  in  his  life  called  in  the 


HENRY  CLAY 


CHANCELLOR  KENT. 


aid   of   coffee    for   his    work.      Wine   he   drank 
daily  at  dinner  only,  and  he  never  smoked. 

When  Cooper  followed  the  Sioux  and  Pawnee 
Indians  to  Washington,  in  1826,  Henry  Clay, 
Secretary  of  State,  offered  him  the  appointment 
of  United  States  Minister  to  Sweden.  It  was 
declined  in  favor  of  the  consulship  to  Lyons, 
France,  which  latter  would  allow  him  more 
freedom  and  protect  his  family  in  case  of  for 
eign  troubles.  With  this  trip  to  Europe  in  view 
his  family  busily  studied  French  and  Spanish. 
Returning  to  New  York,  Cooper's  club  gave  him 


THE  U.  S.  S.  HUDSON. 

a  farewell  dinner,  at  which  the  author  said  he 
intended  to  write  a  history  of  the  United  States 
Navy.  At  this  dinner  he  was  toasted  by  Chan 
cellor  Kent  as  "  the  genius  which  has  rendered 
our  native  soil  classic  ground,  and  given  to  our 
early  history  the  enchantment  of  fiction." 

May  i  the  town  house  was  given  up  for  a 
month  of  hotel  life,  and  on  June  i,  at  eleven 
o'clock,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cooper  and  their  children 
boarded  the  Hudson  at  Whitehall  Wharf  for 
Europe.  They  left  a  land-squall -- their  maid 
Abigail  —  ashore  and  found  some  rough  weather 
ahead  before  June  30.  "  A  fine  clear  day 
brought  in  plain  sight  ninety-seven  sail,  which 

r  132 1 


WHITEHALL  WHARF,  1826. 


had  come  into  the  Channel,  like  ourselves,  dur 
ing  the  thick  weather.  The  blue  waters  were 
glittering  with  canvas."  A  little  later  Cooper 
wrote:  "  There  is  a  cry  of  '  Land!  '  and  I  must 
hasten  on  deck  to  revel  in  the  cheerful  sight." 
The  Hudson  brought  up  at  Cowes,  Isle  of  Wight, 
July  2,  1826;  "after  a  passage  of  thirty-one 
days  we  first  put  foot  in  Europe,"  wrote  Cooper. 
In  this  "  toy-town "  they  found  rooms  at  the 
"  Fountain,"  where  the  windows  gave  them 
pretty  vistas,  and  evening  brought  the  first  old- 
country  meal,  also  the  first  taste  of  the  famous 
Isle-of-Wight  butter,  which,  however,  without 
salt  they  thought  "  tasteless."  As  eager  new- 


comers    to    strange    lands,    they    made    several 
sight-seeing  ventures,  among  which  was  enjoyed 


KEEP  OF  CARISBROOK. 

the  ivy-clad  ruin  of  Carisbrook,  the  one-time 
prison  of  Charles  I.  A  few  days  later  they 
landed  on  the  pier  at  Southampton,  which  town 
is  recorded  as  being  "  noted  for  long  passages, 
bow-windows,  and  old  maids."  Here  they  found 
pleasant  lodgings,  friends,  and  a  sister  of  Mrs. 
Cooper's  whereby  time  was  pleasantly  passed  by 
the  family  while  Cooper  went  up  to  London  to 
see  his  publishers.  On  his  return  they  were 


HAVRE,  BY  NIGHT. 

soon  aboard  the  Camilla,  "  shorn  of  one  wing  " 
(one  of  her  two  boilers  was  out  of  order),  and 
on  their  way  to  France.  At  midnight  they  were 
on  deck  for  their  first  sight  of  France.  '  Land! 
-of  ghostly  hue  in  the  bright  moonlight,  and 
other  lights  glittering  from  the  two  towers  on 
the  headlands  near  by."  Landing  at  the  small 
port  of  Havre,  they  had  some  weary  hours  of 


search  before  finding  shelter  in  Plotcl  d'Anglc- 
tcrrc.  By  a  "  skirted  wonder  "  of  the  port  their 
luggage  soon  passed  the  customs  next  morning 
and  they  were  started  for  Paris.  They  were 
charmed  with  the  dark  old  sombre,  mysterious 


WINDMILLS  OF  MONTMARTRE. 

towers  and  fantastic  roofs  of  Rouen,  where 
Cooper  bought  a  large  traveling  carriage,  in 
which  they  safely  passed  the  "  ugly  dragons  " 
that  "  thrust  out  their  grinning  heads  from  the 
Normandy  towns  "  on  the  way  to  the  heart  of 
France.  From  the  windmills  of  Montmartre 
they  took  in  the  whole  vast  capital  at  a  glance. 
A  short  stay  was  made  at  a  small  hotel,  where 
soon  after  their  arrival  they  engaged  "  a  gov 
erness  for  the  girls."  She  proved  to  be  "  a 


furious  royalist,"  teaching  the  children  that 
"  Washington  was  a  rebel,  Lafayette  a  monster, 
and  Louis  XVI  a  martyr."  Under  the  rule  of 
returned  royalists  was  attempted  the  exclusion 
of  even  the  name  of  Bonaparte  from  French 
history.  "  My  girls," 
Cooper  wrote,  "  have 
shown  me  the  history  of 
France  —  officially  pre 
pared  for  schools,  in 
which  there  is  no  sort 
of  allusion  to  him." 
Their  next  venture  was 


THE  CONVENT  ST.  MAUR.  HOTEL  DE  JUMIEGES. 

[    137    ] 


Hotel  de  Jumieges  in  a  small  garden,  far  from 
the  Faubourg  St.  Germain,  where  they  had 
an  apartment  of  six  rooms.  Cooper  wrote: 
"  The  two  lower  floors  were  occupied  as  a  girls' 
boarding-school ;  —  the  reason  for  dwelling  in 
it,  our  own  daughters  were  in  the  school;  on 
the  second  floor  there  was  nothing  but  our  own 
apartment."  And  here,  next  door  to  their  nun- 
neighbors  of  the  convent  St.  Maur,  Cooper 
wrote  the  last  pages  of  "  The  Prairie."  It  was 
published  in  the  autumn  of  1826,  by  Lea  and 
Carey,  of  Philadelphia. 

Cooper  was  very  fond  of  walking,  and  to  get 
a  general  idea  of  Paris  he  and  Captain  Chauncey 
—  an  old  messmate  and  officer  in  the  navy  — 
made  the  circuit  of  the  city  walls,  a  distance 
of  nineteen  miles,  in  four  hours.  For  two  hours 
the  captain  had  Cooper  "  a  little  on  his  quarter." 
"  By  this  time,"  Cooper  wrote,  "  I  ranged  up 
abeam,"  -  to  find  a  pinching  boot  on  his  friend's 
foot.  Near  the  finish  the  mate  of  this  "  pinch 
ing  boot  "  became  "  too  large,"  and  the  captain 
"  fell  fairly  astern."  But  without  stopping,  eat 
ing,  or  drinking,  they  made  the  distance  in  four 
hours  to  a  minute. 

Washington  Irving  wrote  from  Madrid  the 
[  138  ] 


following  spring:  "I  left  Paris  before  the  ar 
rival  of  Cooper,  and  regret  extremely  that  I 
missed  him.  I  have  a  great  desire  to  make  his 
acquaintance,  for  I  am  delighted  with  his  novels. 
His  naval  scenes  and  characters  in  '  The  Pilot ' 
are  admirable."  Cooper  soon  became  known  in 
France  by  his  presence  at  a  dinner  given  by  the 
U.  S.  Minister  to  Canning  then  in  Paris. 

In  "  Bryant  and  His  Friends  "  General  James 
Grant  Wilson  says:  "  Scott  and  Cooper  met  at 
the  Princess  Galitzin's,  in  Paris,  November, 
1826;  and,  says  Scott's  diary,  'so  the  Scotch 
and  American  Lions  took  the  field  together.' ' 
In  Miss  Cooper's  "  Pages  and  Pictures  "  appears 
her  father's  first  interview  with  the  author  of 
"  Waverley,"  of  which  Cooper  wrote  in  part : 
"  Ten  days  after  the  arrival  of  Sir  Walter  Scott 
I  ordered  a  carriage  one  morning.  I  had  got  as 
far  as  the  lower  flight  to  the  door  when  another 
carriage-steps  rattled,  and  presently  a  large, 
heavy  man  appeared  in  the  door  of  the  hotel. 
He  was  gray,  limped  a  little,  walking  with  a 
cane.  We  passed  on  the  stairs,  bowing.  I  was 
about  to  enter  the  carriage  when  I  fancied  the 
face  and  form  were  known  to  me,  and  it  flashed 
on  my  mind  that  the  visit  might  be  to  myself. 


The  stranger  went  up  the  large  stone  steps,  with 
one  hand  on  the  railing  and  the  other  on  his 
cane.  He  was  on  the  first  landing  as  I  stopped, 
and,  turning,  our  eyes  met.  He  asked  in  French, 
'  Is  it  Mr.  Cooper  that  I  have  the  honor  to  see?  ' 
'  I  am,  sir.'  *  Oh,  well  then,  I  am  Walter  Scott/ 
I  ran  up,  shook  the  hand  he  stood  holding  out 
to  me  cordially,  and  expressed  my  sense  of  the 
honor  he  was  conferring.  He  told  me  the 
Princess  Galitzin  had  been  as  good  as  her  word 
and  given  him  my  address,  —  and  cutting  short 
ceremony  he  had  driven  from  his  hotel  to  my 
lodgings."  Realizing  all  at  once  that  he  was 
speaking  French  to  Cooper's  English,  he  said: 
"  Well,  I  have  been  parlez-vousing  in  a  way  to 
surprise  you.  These  Frenchmen  have  my  tongue 
so  set  to  their  lingo  I  have  half  forgotten  my 
own  language,'  he  continued  in  Fnglish,  and  ac 
cepted  my  arm  up  the  next  flight  of  stairs/'' 
They  had  some  copyright  and  other  talk,  and 
Sir  Walter  "  spoke  of  his  works  with  frankness 
and  simplicity";  and  as  to  proof-reading,  he 
said  he  "  would  as  soon  see  his  dinner  after  a 
hearty  meal  "  as  to  read  one  of  his  own  tales 
-  "  when  fairly  rid  of  it."  When  he  rose  to 
go  Cooper  begged  he  might  have  the  gratifica- 


I 


tion  of  presenting  his  wife.  Sir  Walter  good- 
naturedly  assented.  When  Mrs.  Cooper  and 
their  nephew  William  Cooper  were  introduced, 
he  sat  some  little  time  relating  in  Scotch  dialect 
some  anecdotes.  Then  his  hostess  remarked 
that  the  chair  he  sat  in  had  been  twice  honored 
that  day,  as  General  Lafayette  had  not  left  it 
more  than  an  hour  before.  Sir  Walter  was  sur 
prised,  thinking  Lafayette  had  gone  to  America 
to  live,  and  observed,  "  He  is  a  great  man." 
Two  days  later  Sir  Walter  had  Cooper  to  break 
fast,  where  the  Scotch  bard  appeared  in  a  newly- 
bought  silk  gown,  trying  "  as  hard  as  he  could 
to  make  a  Frenchman  of  himself."  Among 
others  present  was  Miss  Anne  Scott,  who  was 
her  father's  traveling  companion.  "  She  was  in 
half  mourning,  and  with  her  black  eyes  and  jet- 
black  hair  might  very  well  have  passed  for  a 
French  woman."  Of  Scott  Cooper  wrote: 
"  During  the  time  the  conversation  was  not  led 
down  to  business,  he  manifested  a  strong  pro 
pensity  to  humor."  In  naming  their  common 
publisher  in  Paris  "  he  quaintly  termed  him, 
with  a  sort  of  malicious  fun,  '  our  gosling  '  (his 
name  was  Goselin),  adding  that  he  hoped  at 
least  he  '  laid  golden  eggs/  '  Mr.  Cooper  was 

[  142  ] 


JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER.     After  portrait  by  Madame  de  Mirbel,  1830. 

warmly  interested  in  aiding  Sir  Walter's  "  Wav- 
erley "  copyrights  in  America,  and  concerning 
their  author  he  later  wrote :  "In  Auld  Reekie, 
and  among  the  right  set,  warmed,  perhaps,  by 
a  glass  of  '  mountain  dew/  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
in  his  peculiar  way,  is  one  of  the  pleasantest 
companions  the  world  holds."  About  1830,  when 
Cooper  was  sitting  for  his  portrait  by  Madame 
de  Mirbel,  that  artist  -  -  for  its  pose  —  asked  him 
to  look  at  the  picture  of  a  distinguished  statesman. 
Cooper  said:  "  No,  if  I  must  look  at  any,  it  shall 
be  at  my  master,"  and  lifting  his  eyes  higher  they 
rested  on  a  portrait  of  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

[  i43  1 


One  of  Cooper's  steadfast  friends  exclaimed  of 
him :  -  '  What  a  love  he  cherished  for  superior 
talents  in  every  ennobling  pursuit  in  life!  "  This 
characteristic  no  doubt  led  him  into  that  day  life 
of  Pierre  Jean  David  d'Angers,  whose  brave  soul 
had  battled  its  way  to  artistic  recognition.  In 
M.  Henry  Jouin's  "  David  d'Angers  et  ses  Rela 
tions  Litteraires,"  Paris,  1890,  appear  two  letter 
records  of  this  master-sculptor  as  to  Cooper.  In 
that  of  David  to  Victor  Pavie,  November,  1826, 
is:  '''  Next  week  I  am  to  dine  with  Cooper;  I 

[  i44  1 


JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER.     From  a  photograph  of  the  bust  by  David 
d'Angers,  Paris,  1828. 


shall  make  his  bust.  If  you  have  not  yet  read  his 
works,  read  them,  you  will  find  the  characters 
vigorously  traced."  A  note  adds  that  the  sculptor 
kept  his  word,  and  this  bust  of  Cooper  appeared 
in  the  "  Salon  of  1827."  Paris,  March  30,  1828, 
David  again  writes  of  Cooper  to  Victor  Pavie :  — 
'  Dear  friend,  in  speaking  of  the  sea,  I  think  of 
'  The  Red  Rover  '  of  my  good  friend  Cooper. 
Have  you  read  it?  It  interests  me  much."  A 
note  adds :  "  Without  doubt  the  author  had  pre 
sented  his  new  book  to  the  sculptor/'  who  gave  to 
Cooper  this  bust,  modeled  in  1826.  Mrs.  Cooper 
thought  the  bust  and  the  Jarvis  portrait  of  her 
husband  were  "  perfect  likenesses."  Later  on 
David's  genius  again  found  expression  in  a 
bronze  medallion  of  his  "  good  friend  Cooper." 
David  has  given  the  striking  intellectual  of 
Cooper's  head  of  which  an  authority  of  that 
time  wrote:  "  Nature  moulded  it  in  majesty,  yet 
denied  it  not  the  gentler  graces  that  should  ever 
adorn  greatness." 


146  ] 


MRS.  JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER. 

From  a  photograph  of  a  drawing  made  in  Paris,  1830. 


4  In  Paris  Cooper's  style  of  living  gave  his 
ideas  of  the  duties  and  position  of  an  American 
gentleman.  In  a  part  of  the  handsome  Hotel 
de  Jumieges  he  lived,  keeping  his  carriage  and 
service  required  by  a  modest  establishment;  and 
his  doors  were  always  open  to  every  American 
who  had  claims  on  his  society.  Meanwhile 
nothing  was  allowed  to  break  in  upon  his  literary 
duties,  for  which  a  part  of  each  clay  was  set 
aside."  So  wrote  one  who  became  a  friend 
staunch  and  true  at  this  time  in  Paris.  Of 
their  meeting  he  wrote :  "  I  shall  never  forget 
the  first  day  I  saw  Cooper.  He  was  at  good  old 
General  Lafayette's,  in  the  little  apartment  of 
the  rue  d'  Anjou,  —  the  scene  of  many  hallowed 
memories."  Lafayette's  kind  heart  had  granted 
an  interview  to  some  Indians  by  whom  a  reck 
less  white  man  was  filling  his  purse  in  parading 
through  Europe.  With  winning  smile  the  great, 
good  man  told  these  visitors  to  return  to  their 
home  while  yet  they  could.  Mr.  G.  continued: 
"  As  I  was  gazing  at  this  scene  I  saw  a  gentle 
man  enter  whose  appearance  called  off  the  Gen 
eral's  attention.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  life 
(thirty-five),  and  of  that  vigor  which  air  and 
manly  exercise  give.  I  had  seen  the  heads  of 


great  men,  and  there  were  some  close  to  me, 
but  none  with  such  a  full,  expansive  forehead, 
such  strong  features,  a  mouth  firm  without 
harshness,  and  an  eye  whose  clear  gray  seemed 
to  read  you  at  a  glance  while  it  fears  not  to 
let  you  read  him  in  turn.  '  Who  is  he  ? '  I 
whispered  to  a  grand-daughter  of  the  General 
near  me.  '  Mr.  Cooper ;  do  you  not  know  Mr. 
Cooper?  Let  me  introduce  you  to  him.' 
'  Cooper,'  said  I  to  myself;  '  can  it  be  that  I  am 
within  five  paces,  and  that  there,  too,  are  the 
feeble  of  the  race  around  which  his  genius  has 
shed  a  halo  like  that  of  Homer's  own  heros?' 


PROF.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  GREEN  ("MR.  G".) 

[  150  ] 


I  was  fresh  from  k  The  Mohicans/  and  my  hand 
trembled  as  it  met  the  cordial  grasp  of  the  man 
to  whom  I  owed  so  many  pleasing  hours.  I 
asked  about  the  Indians.  '  They  are  poor  speci 
mens/  said  he;  '  fourth-rate  at  best  in  their  own 
woods,  and  ten-times  worse  for  the  lives  they 
are  leading  here.'  "  Later,  Mr.  G.  met  the  author 
in  Lafayette's  bed-room,  and  saw  how  warmly 
he  was  welcomed  by  the  great  poet  Beranger. 
Still  later  Mr.  G.  and  Cooper  met  in  Florence, 
where  they  had  much  fine  talking  and  walking 
"  on  calm  summer  evenings."  Of  the  Bard-of- 
Avon  it  is  noted  that  Cooper  said:  "  Shakespeare 
is  my  traveling  library.  To  a  novel-writer  he 
is  invaluable.  Publishers  will  have  mottoes  for 
every  chapter;  I  never  yet  turned  ov?r  Shake- 


TALLEYRAND. 

speare  without  hitting  upon  just  what  I  wanted. 
I  like  to  take  them,  whenever  I  can,  from  our 
own  poets.  It  is  a  compliment  they  have  a  right 
to,  and  I  am  glad  when  I  can  pay  it."  Concern 
ing  the  author's  habits,  this  friend  concludes: 
"  When  Cooper  left  his  desk  he  left  his  pen  on 
it.  He  came  out  into  the  world  to  hear  and  see 
what  other  men  were  doing.  If  they  wanted 
to  hear  him,  there  he  was,  perfectly  ready  to 
express  opinions  of  men  or  things.  It  was  de 
lightful  to  hear  him  talk  about  his  own  works, 
he  did  it  with  such  a  frank,  fresh,  manly 
feeling." 

[  152  ] 


m 


t 


DUCHESSE    DE    BERRI. 


CHARLES  X  or  FRANCE. 


Among  the  great  again  was  seen  the  ever- 
favored  yet  not  "  gai  "  Talleyrand.  Of  the  in 
cident  Cooper  noted:  "It  is  etiquette  for  the 
kings  of  France  to  dine  in  public  on  January  14 
and  on  the  monarch's  fete-day."  Wishing  to 
see  this  ceremony,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cooper  were 
sent  the  better  of  the  two  permissions  granted 
for  the  occasion.  Cooper  describes  the  ceremony 
-the  entree  of  Charles  X:  "  Lc  Roi,  tall,  de 
cidedly  graceful;  the  Dauphin  to  his  right,  the 
Dauphine  to  his  left,  and  to  her  right  the  Duchess 
of  Berri."  Passing  Cooper,  he  continues :  "  Near 
a  little  gate  was  an  old  man  in  strictly  court- 
dress.  The  long  white  hair  that  hung  down  his 
face,  the  cordon  bleu,  the  lame  foot,  and  the 
unearthly  aspect  made  me  suspect  the  truth,  - 


it  was  M.  de  Talleyrand  as  grand  chamber- 
lin,  to  officiate  at  the  dinner  of  his  master  " ; 
whereby  proving  his  own  words :  "  It  is  not 
enough  to  be  some  one,  —  it  is  needful  to  do 
something/'  A  near  Abbe  whispered  of  Talley 
rand  to  Cooper :  "  But,  sir,  he  is  a  cat,  that 
always  falls  on  its  feet."  Yet  of  Talleyrand  an 
other's  record  is:  "  But  if  Charles  Maurice  was 
lame  of  leg  —  his  wit  was  keener  and  more 
nimble  than  that  of  any  man  in  Europe." 
Brushing  past  the  gorgeous  state-table  to  Mrs. 
Cooper,  the  author  adds :  "  She  laughed,  and 
said  '  it  was  all  very  magnificent  and  amusing/ 
but  some  one  had  stolen  her  shawl!" 

Cooper  was  ever  a  home-lover.  Wherever  he 
might  be  in  foreign  lands,  he  contrived  to  have 
his  own  roof-tree  when  possible.  Therefore,  the 
summer  of  1827  sent  them  from  rue  St.  Maur 
to  the  village  of  St.  Ouen,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Seine  and  a  league  from  the  gates  of  Paris. 
The  village  itself  was  not  attractive,  but  pleas 
ant  was  the  home,  next  to  a  small  chateau 
where  Madame  de  Stae'l  lived  when  her  father, 
M.  Necker,  was  in  power.  Some  twenty-two  spa 
cious,  well-furnished  rooms  this  summer  home 
had,  in  which  once  lived  the  Prince  de  Soubise 


when  grand  veneur  of  Louis  XV,  who  went 
there  at  times  to  eat  his  dinner  — "  in  what 
served  us  for  a  drawing-room,"  Cooper  wrote. 
The  beautiful  garden  of  shade-trees,  shrubbery, 
and  flowers,  within  gray  walls  fourteen  feet 
high,  was  a  blooming  paradise ;  and  for  it  all  - 
horses,  cabriolet,  grand  associations  —  was  paid 
two  hundred  dollars  per  month  for  the  season 
of  five. 

'  The  Red  Rover  "  was  written  in  these  three 
or  four  summer  months  in  St.  Cuen  on  the 
Seine,  whence  the  author's  letters  tell  of  watch 
ing  the  moving  life  on  the  river,  the  merry 
washerwomen  as  they  chatter,  joke,  and  splash 
beneath  his  terrace;  how  he  tried  punting,  and 
left  it  to  "  honest  Pierre,"  who  never  failed  to 
charge  him  double  fare,  and  of  whom  he  tells 
a  pretty  story;  how  they  all  enjoyed  the  village 
fetes,  with  whirligigs  and  flying-horses,  whereby 
the  French  contrive  to  make  and  spend  a  few 
sons  pleasantly.  "  I  enjoy  all  this  greatly," 
wrote  Cooper.  Excursions  were  made,  —  one 
to  Montmorenci,  in  plain  view  of  Paris ;  and 
the  author  explains  that  the  Montmorenci  claim 
to  being  "  the  first  Christian  baron  "  is  of  the 
Crusade  War-Cry  date  and  origin.  His  wife 


and  he  took  all  the  pretty  drives  in  their  cabrio 
let,  but  later  he  took  to  the  saddle  for  the  out- 
of-field  paths,  where  pleasant  salutations  were 
exchanged  with  kindly-hearted  peasants.  Of 
these  rambles  Cooper  wrote :  "  One  of  my  rides 
is  ascending  Montmartre  by  its  rear,  to  the 
windmills  that  night  and  day  are  whirling  their 
rugged  arms  over  the  capital  of  France."  Mont 
martre,  he  said,  gave  him  a  view  "  like  a  glimpse 
into  the  pages  of  history."  He  often  met  roy 
alty  dashing  to  and  from  Paris.  The  king  with 
his  carriage-and-eight,  attended  by  a  dozen 
mounted  men,  made  a  royal  progress  truly 
magnificent. 

Overhanging    the    river    at    the    garden    side 
was  a  broad  terrace  which  ended  in  a  pleasant 


COOPER'S  TERRACE  STUDY,  ST.  OUEN. 

[  157  ] 


THE  RED  ROVER 


OLD  MILL 
AT  NEWPORT. 


summer-house,  and  here  many  pages  of  the 
author's  next  book  -  '  The  Red  Rover  "  -  were 
written.  After  he  left  the  navy,  and  while  he 
was  living  in  Angevine,  Cooper  became  part 
owner  in  a  whaling-ship,  --  The  Union,  of  Sag 
Harbor.  She  made  trips  to  different  parts  of 
the  coast,  and  several  times,  for  the  pleasure  of 
it,  Cooper  played  skipper.  Under  his  direction 
she  once  carried  him  to  Newport,  with  which 
he  was  greatly  pleased.  He  explored  the  old 
ruin  there,  but  no  fancy  could  ever  persuade 
him  to  see  more  than  a  windmill  in  it;  but  the 
charm  of  Newport's  situation,  harbor,  and  shore 

[  158  ] 


THE  NEWPORT  Box. 

lines  lingered  in  his  mind  and  served  him  for 
the  opening  and  closing  scenes  of  this  work. 
After  its  publication  he  received  from  some 
Newport  gentlemen  the  gift  of  a  little  box  made 
from  the  keel  of  the  Endeavor,  Cook's  famous 
exploring  ship,  which  wound  up  its  world-cir 
cling  voyage  in  Newport  harbor.  On  the  lid 
of  the  box  was  a  silver-plate  engraving.  In 
Cooper's  story  the  "  Red  Rover "  appears  on 
this  Newport  scene  in  the  height  of  his  career, 
-  an  outlaw  in  spirit,  a  corsair  in  deed.  In 
early  life  he  was  of  quick  mind,  strong  will, 
with  culture  and  social  position,  but  wildly  pas 
sionate  and  wayward ;  and  smarting  under  offi 
cial  injustice,  in  an  evil  hour  he  casts  his  law- 


lessness  loose  on  the  storm-tide  of  life.  The 
voice  of  an  elder  sister,  who  had  given  some 
thing  of  a  mother's  deep  love  and  tenderness  to 
the  wayward  youth,  falls  upon  his  ear.  Old 
memories  are  awakened;  home  feeling  revives; 
conscience  is  aroused,  and  in  the  very  hour  of 
its  greatest  triumph  the  proud  spirit  bows  in 
penitence,  —  the  Rover  surrenders  his  captives. 
A  like  change  of  heart  came,  through  a  mutual 
love  of  the  birds  of  heaven,  to  a  real  pirate  who 
chanced  upon  a  cabin  in  the  forest's  solitude  and 
here  confessed  his  life  to  its  inmate,  Audubon, 
who  left  this  "  striking  incident  "  a  record  in  his 
works.  However,  "  Dick  Fid,  that  arrant  old 
foretop  man,  and  his  comrade,  Negro  Sip,  are  the 
true  lovers  of  the  narrative;  —  the  last,  indeed, 
is  a  noble  creature,  a  hero  under  the  skin  of 
Congo/'  "  The  Red  Rover  "  is  all  a  book  of 
the  sea.  In  Sir  Walter  Scott's  journal,  January, 
1828,  appears:  "  I  have  read  Cooper's  new  novel, 
'  The  Red  Rover.'  The  current  of  it  rolls  en 
tirely  on  the  ocean.  Something  too  much  of 
nautical  language.  It  is  very  clever,  though." 
Its  author  "  has  often  been  idly  compared  to  the 
author  of  '  Waverley,'  but  to  no  such  heritage 
as  Scott's  was  ever  Cooper  born.  Alone  he  pene- 

[  160  ] 


trated  the  literary  wilderness,  blazing  paths  for 
those  who  should  come  after  him  there  " ;  —  and 
a  Columbus  of  letters  for  others  to  follow  on 
the  sea's  highway  \vas  he. 

A  misprint  in  Lockhart's  "  Life  of  Scott " 
made  his  comment  on  Cooper  most  unfortunate 
by  an  "  s "  added  to  the  word  manner.  Sir 
Walter's  journal  reads :  "  This  man  who  has 
shown  so  much  genius  has  a  good  deal  of  man 
ner,  or  want  of  manner,  peculiar  to  his  country 
men."  Cooper,  hurt  to  the  quick  for  himself 
and  his  country  at  being  rated  "  a  rude  boor 
from  the  bookless  wilds,"  by  one  he  had  called 
his  "  sovereign  "  in  past  cordial  relations,  re 
sented  this  expression  in  his  review  of  Lock- 

[  161  ] 


hart's  work  for  the  Knickerbocker  Magazine, 
1838,  and  for  so  doing  he  was  harshly  criticised 
in  England.  October,  1864,  the  literary  editor 
of  The  Illustrated  London  News  wrote:  "I  am 
almost  inclined  to  agree  with  Thackeray  in  lik 
ing  Hawkeye  '  better  than  any  of  Scott's  lot.' 
What  noble  stories  those  five  are  in  which 
the  hero  is  described  from  youth  to  age!" 
From  "  Thackeray  in  the  United  States,"  by 
General  James  Grant  Wilson,  comes :  "  At  an 
American  dinner  table "  (the  talk  was  of 
Cooper  and  his  writings)  "  Thackeray  pro 
nounced  Leatherstocking  the  greatest  character 
created  in  fiction  since  the  Don  Quixote  of 
Cervantes  " ;  and  he  thought  the  death  scene 
in  "  The  Prairie,"  where  the  old  trapper  said 
"  Here !  "  surpassing  anything  he  had  "  met  in 
English  literature." 

Of  Natty's  answer  to  the  Spirit  Land  call 
Cooper's  own  words  are :  '  The  trapper  was 
placed  on  a  rude  seat,  which  had  been  made,  with 
studied  care,  to  support  his  frame  in  an  upright 
and  easy  attitude  —  so  as  to  let  the  light  of  the 
setting  sun  fall  full  upon  the  solemn  features. 
His  head  was  bare,  the  long,  thin  locks  of  gray 
fluttering  lightly  in  the  evening  breeze.  The 

[  162  ] 


NATTY'S  LAST  CALL. 

first  glance  of  the  eye  told  his  former  friends  that 
the  old  man  was  at  length  called  upon  to  pay  the 
last  tribute  of  nature.  The  trapper  had  remained 
nearly  motionless  for  an  hour.  His  eyes  alone 
had  occasionally  opened  and  shut.  When  opened, 
his  gaze  seemed  fastened  on  the  clouds  which 
hung  around  the  western  horizon,  reflecting  the 
bright  colors,  and  giving  form  and  loveliness  to 
the  glorious  tints  of  an  American  sunset.  The 
hour  —  the  calm  beauty  of  the  season --the  oc 
casion,  all  conspired  to  fill  the  spectators  with 
solemn  awe.  Suddenly,  while  musing  on  the 
remarkable  position  in  which  he  was  placed, 
Middleton  felt  the  hand  which  he  held  grasp  his 
own  with  incredible  power,  and  the  old  man,  sup 
ported  on  either  side  by  his  friends,  rose  upright 

[  163  ] 


to  his  feet.  For  a  moment  he  looked  about  him, 
as  if  to  invite  all  in  presence  to  listen  (the  linger 
ing  remnant  of  human  frailty),  and  then,  with  a 
fine  military  elevation  of  the  head,  and  with  a 
voice  that  might  be  heard  in  every  part  of  that 
numerous  assembly,  he  pronounced  the  word  - 
'  Here ! ' 

"  When  Middleton  and  Hard  Heart,  each  of 
whom  had  involuntarily  extended  a  hand  to  sup 
port  the  form  of  the  old  man,  turned  to  him  again, 
they  found  that  the  subject  of  their  interest  was 
removed  forever  beyond  the  necessity  of  their 


care." 


Concerning  social  life  Cooper  wrote:  "  Tak 
ing  into  consideration  our  tastes  and  my  health, 
the  question  has  been,  not  how  to  get  into,  but 
how  to  keep  out  of,  the  great  world."  But  for 
the  happy  chance  of  inquiry  at  the  gate  of  a 
friend,  the  author  would  "  have  dined  with  the 
French  Lord-High-Chancellor,  without  the  small 
est  suspicion  of  who  he  was!"  Of  French 
women  Cooper  adds :  "  The  highest  style  of 
French  beauty  is  classical.  I  cannot  recall  a 
more  lovely  picture  than  the  Duchess  de  - 
[this  title  and  blank  are  said  to  veil  the  identity 
of  the  Princess  Galitzin]  in  full  dress  at  a  car- 

[  164  ] 


nival  ball,  where  she  shone  peerless  among  hun 
dreds  of  the  elite  of  Europe.  And  yet  this 
woman  was  a  grandmother !  " 

In  a  letter  dated  Paris,  November  28,   1826, 


THE  PRINCESS  BARBARA  VASSILIEWNA  GALITZIN. 

written  by  Mrs.  Cooper  to  her  sister,  appears  of 
Mr.  Cooper:  —  "  They  make  quite  a  Lion  of  him 
and  Princesses  write  to  him  and  he  has  invita 
tions  from  Lords  and  Ladies.  He  has  so  many 
notes  from  the  Princess  Galitzin  I  should  be 

[  165  ] 


absolutely  jealous  were  it  not  that  she  is  a 
Grandmother.  We  were  at  a  Soiree  there  the 
other  evening  among  Dutchesses,  Princesses, 
Countesses,  etc." 

Once  with  and  twice  without  Mrs.  Cooper, 
the  author  visited  La  Grange,  the  country  home 
of  General  Lafayette,  some  twenty-seven  miles 
from  Paris  and  near  Rosay.  He  tells  us  that 
La  Grange  means  barn,  granary,  or  farm,  and 
that  the  chateau  came  to  Lafayette  through  his 
wife;  that  it  had  some  five  hundred  acres  of 
wood,  pasture,  meadow,  and  cultivated  land; 
that  the  house  is  of  hewn  stone,  good  grayish 
color,  with  its  five  plain,  round  towers  and  their 
high,  pyramidal  slate  roofs  making  a  part  of  the 
walls;  that  the  end  towers  are  buried  in  ivy 
planted  by  Charles  Fox.  He  tells  how  small, 
irregular  windows  open  beautifully  through  the 
thick  foliage  for  the  blooming  faces  of  children, 
in  their  home-part  of  La  Grange.  He  gives 
rare  pictures  of  the  great  stairway,  the  General's 
bed-room,  cabinet,  and  library  in  the  tower-angle 
overlooking  the  willow-shaded  moat.  Beneath 
this  library  was  the  author's  own  bed-room. 
Then  came  the  array  of  drawing-rooms  and 
innumerable  other  rooms,  where  hospitality 

[  166  ] 


LA  GRANGE,  COUNTRY  HOME  OF  LAFAYETTE. 


LA  GRANGE  ARCHWAY  ENTRANCE. 


seemed  to  know  no  limit.  Lafayette's  cabinet 
contained  many  portraits,  —  one  of  Madame  de 
Stael,  and  one  of  his  own  father.  Of  this 
room,  and  the  library,  and  his  grand  old  host 
Cooper  wrote:  "I  passed  much  of  our  visit 
alone  with  him  in  these  two  rooms.  No  one 
can  be  pleasanter  in  private,  and  he  is  full  of 
historical  anecdotes  that  he  tells  with  great  sim 
plicity  and  frequently  with  great  humor."  The 
chateau  stands  on  three  sides  of  an  irregular 
square,  and  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque 
structures  in  the  country.  The  winding  road 
enters  a  thicket  of  evergreens,  crosses  a  bridge, 
and  passes  beneath  an  arch  to  the  paved  court. 
Together,  Cooper  and  his  host  had  many  walks 
and  drives  thereabouts,  and,  all  in  all,  the  au 
thor  fell  under  the  spell  of  Lafayette's  personal 
charm  and  his  simple  integrity  of  character. 
Between  Lafayette's  richness  of  years  and 
Talleyrand's  old  age  there  was  a  gulf,  —  one  had 
attained  nearly  everything  worth  striving  for; 
the  other  had  lost  the  same. 

Cooper  and  his  family  entered  France  July, 
1826,  and  February,  1828,  they  thought  the  time 
had  come  to  change  the  scene,  and  proceeded  to 
England.  "  I  drove  around  to  the  rue  d'Anjou 

[  168  ] 


HOTEL  DESSEIN,  CALAIS,  FRANCE. 

to  take  my  leave  of  General  Lafayette,"  wrote 
Cooper.  To  Calais  they  had  rain  and  chill  and 
darkness  most  of  the  way.  Passing-  through  the 
gate,  they  drove  to  the  inn  immortalized  by 
Lawrence  Sterne  and  Beau  Brummel,  where 
they  found  English  comfort  with  French  cook 
ing  and  French  taste.  One  of  February's  fine 
days  they  left  the  Hotel  Dessein  to  embark  for 
England.  After  a  two-hours'  run  the  cliffs  of 
Dover  appeared  on  each  side  of  that  port,  - 
the  nearest  to  the  continent,  —  making  these 
chalk  cliffs  seem.  Cooper  says,  "  a  magnificent 
gateway  to  a  great  nation."  Leaving  the  fish 
ing-boats  of  the  French  coast,  "  the  lofty  can- 

[  169  ] 


vas  of  countless  ships  and  several  Indiamen 
rose  from  the  sea/'  as  they  shot  towards  the 
English  shore,  many  "bound  to  that  focus  of 


CLIFFS  OF  DOVER. 

coal-smoke,  London."  Quietly  landing  at  Dover- 
haven,  they  went  to  Wright's  tavern,  where 
they  missed  the  French  manner,  mirrors,  and 
table-service,  but  "  got  in  their  place  a  good 
deal  of  solid,  unpretending  comfort."  In  due 
time  Mr.  Wright  put  them  and  their  luggage 
into  a  comfortable  post-coach,  and  on  the  road 
he  called  "  quite  rotten,  sir/'  to  London.  To 
Americans,  at  that  date,  the  road  proved  good, 
and  also  the  horses  that  made  the  sixteen  miles 
to  Canterbury  in  an  hour  and  a  half,  where 

[  170  ] 


CANTERBURY  CATHEDRAL  CHOIR. 

they  drove  to  another  Mr.  Wright's;  going 
to  four  of  the  name  between  Dover  and  Lon 
don,  Cooper  concluded  with  an  apology  that  "  it 
was  literally  all  Wright  on  this  road."  The 
visit  to  Canterbury  cathedral  was  made  during 
"  morning  vespers  in  the  choir.  It  sounded  odd 
to  hear  our  own  beautiful  service  in  our  own 
tongue,  in  such  a  place,  after  the  Latin  chants 
of  canons ;  and  we  stood  listening  writh  rever 
ence  without  the  screen."  London  met  them 
"  several  miles  in  the  suburbs  down  the  river," 


m 


GREEN  GATE,  CANTERBURY. 

but  they  suddenly  burst  out  onto  Waterloo 
bridge,  over  which  they  were  whirled  into  the 
Strand  and  set  down  at  Wright's  hotel,  Adam 
Street,  Adelphi ;  "  and,"  wrote  Cooper,  "  we  were 
soon  refreshing  ourselves  with  some  of  worthy 
Mrs.  Wright's  excellent  tea." 

The  second  night  in  London  Cooper,  stretched 
out  on  a  sofa,  was  reading,  when  some  street 
musicians  began  to  play  beneath  his  window  sev 
eral  tunes  without  success;  "finally,"  he  wrote, 
"  the  rogues  contrived,  after  all,  to  abstract  half 
a  crown  from  my  pocket  by  suddenly  striking 
up  *  Yankee  Doodle ! '  After  some  hunting 
they  took  a  small  house  in  St.  James  Place, 
which  gave  them  "  a  tiny  drawing-room,  a  din 
ing-room,  three  bed-rooms,  offices,  and  house- 


ST.  JAMES  PLACE,  LONDON. 

service  for  a  guinea  per  day."  A  guinea  more 
weekly  was  added  for  their  three  fires,  and  their 
own  maid  and  man  gave  personal  service  during 
this  London  season.  Of  his  man-servant  Cooper 
wrote:  "The  English  footman  I  engaged  is  a 
steady,  little,  old  man,  with  a  red  face  and  a 
powdered  poll,  who  appears  in  black  breeches 
and  coat,  but  who  says  himself  that  his  size  has 
marred  his  fortune.  He  is  cockney  born,  about 
fifty;  quality  and  splendor  act  forcibly  on  his 
imagination,  and  he  is  much  condemned  in  the 
houses  where  I  visit  on  account  of  his  dwarfish 
stature";  and  we  are  told  that  the  English 
favor  pretty  faces  for  their  maids  and  fine  fig 
ures  for  their  footmen. 


To  a  Mr.  Spencer  whom  Cooper  met  in  France 
was  due  the  visit  soon  paid  him  by  his  near 
neighbor,  the  author  of  the  "  Pleasures  of  Mem- 


SIR  FRANCIS  CHANTREY.  SAMUEL  ROGERS. 

ory."  Of  Samuel  Rogers  Cooper  wrote:  "He 
very  kindly  sought  me  out";  and,  "few  men 
have  a  more  pleasant  way  of  saying  pleasant 
things."  His  visit  was  followed  by  an  invitation 
to  breakfast  the  next  morning.  Cooper  contin 
ues  :  "  It  was  but  a  step  from  my  door,  and  you 
may  be  certain  I  was  punctual."  He  found  the 
poet's  home  perfection  for  a  bachelor's  needs; 
only  eighteen  feet  front,  but  the  drawing-room 
and  dining-room  were  lined  with  old  masters. 
And  in  the  bow-window  stood  the  "  Chantrey 
Vase,"  placed  by  its  maker  when  artist  workman 


in  the  room  where  he  later  dined  as  Chantrey 
the  sculptor  and  Rogers'  honored  guest.  The 
library  was  filled  with  valuable  books  and  curi 
osities  in  history,  literature,  and  art.  Of  this 
poet's  dream-home  Cooper  wrote :  "  Neither  he 
nor  any  one  else  has  a  right  to  live  in  so  ex 
quisite  a  house  and  expect  everybody  to  hold 
their  tongues  about  it.  Taking  the  house,  the 
host,  the  mental  treats  he  dispenses,  the  com 
pany,  and  the  tone,  it  is  not  easy  to  conceive 
of  anything  better  in  their  way.  Commend  me 
in  every  respect  to  the  delicious  breakfasts  of 
St.  James  Place!"  On  one  occasion,  "Rogers, 
talking  of  Washington  Irving' s  '  Columbus,'  said, 
'  in  his  airy,  significant  way,'  as  Moore  called 
it,  '  It 's  rather  long.'  Cooper  turned  round  on 
him  and  said  sharply,  '  That 's  a  short  criti 
cism/  '  This  banker-poet  could  be  severe  on 
his  English  friends  too,  as  it  appears  "  Lady 
Holland  was  always  lamenting  that  she  had 
nothing  to  do.  One  day,  complaining  worse 
than  ever  that  she  did  not  know  '  what  to  be 
at,'  "  said  Rogers,  "  I  could  not  resist  recom 
mending  her  to  try  a  novelty  —  try  and  do  a 
little  good." 

Through    Samuel    Rogers    Cooper    was    soon 
[  176  ] 


CHARLES  ROBERT  LESLIE. 


SIR  JAMES  MACKINTOSH. 


dining  at  Holland  House,  in  the  much-carved 
and  gilded  room  where  Sully  and  embassy 
supped  in  1603.  By  a  word  to  the  porter,  Sir 
James  Mackintosh  had  planned  a  pleasant  half- 
hour  for  his  American  friend  in  the  gardens, 


[  177  ] 


LIBRARY  OF  HOLLAND  HOUSE. 

where  was  Rogers'  seat,  and  then  in  the  library 
on  the  second  floor,  where  he  saw  its  each-end 
tables.  The  generous  space  between  is  said  to 
have  been  paced  by  "  Addison  when  compos 
ing,"  and  his  inspiration  quickened  by  kindly 
"  bottles  placed  on  them  for  that  purpose."  The 
artist  Charles  Robert  Leslie  caught  a  rare 
glimpse  on  canvas  of  this  library,  in  which  ap 
pear  his  friends  Lord  and  Lady  Holland,  who 
were  also  the  host  and  hostess  of  Fenimore 
Cooper.  We  are  told  by  him  that  the  dining- 
table  was  square;  that  the  host  had  one  corner 

[  178  ] 


and  the  hostess  the  centre;  and  the  American 
author,  "  as  the  stranger,  had  the  honor  of  a 
seat  next  to  Lady  Holland."  When  talking,  he 
was  offered  by  her  a  plate  of  herring,  of  which 
he  frankly  avowed  he  "  ought  to  have  eaten  one, 
even  to  the  fins  and  tail  " ;  but  little  dreaming 
of  their  international  worth  just  then,  the  her 
ring  were  declined.  With  good  humor  his  hostess 
said:  ''You  do  not  know  what  you  say;  they 
are  Dutch."  With  some  vigor  of  look  and  tone 
Cooper  repeated  —  "  Dutch!"  The  reply  was: 
"Yes,  Dutch;  we  can  only  get  them  through 


an  ambassador."  Then  Cooper  rose  to  the  oc 
casion  by  replying:  "There  are  too  many  good 
things  of  native  production  to  require  a  voyage 
to  Holland  on  my  account."  Of  their  host 
Rogers'  record  was:  "Lord  Holland  always 
comes  down  to  breakfast  like  a  man  upon  whom 
sudden  good  fortune  had  just  fallen  —  his  was 
the  smile  that  spoke  the  mind  at  ease."  And 
after  his  death  were  found  on  Lord  Holland's 
dressing-table,  and  in  his  handwriting,  these 
lines  on  himself: 

Nephew  of  Fox  and  friend  of  Gay, 

Enough  my  meed  of  fame 
If   those   who   deighn'd  to   observe  me   say 

I  injured  neither  name. 


ROGERS'  SEAT. 


"  Here  Rogers  sat,  and  here  forever  dwell 
With  me,  those  Pleasures  that  he  sang  so  well. 
[  180  ] 


After  dining  at  Lord  Grey's  Cooper  wrote  of 
him:  "  He  on  all  occasions  acted  as  if  he  never 
thought  of  national  differences";  and  the  au 
thor  thought  him  "  the  man  of  most  character 


MRS.  JOHN  GIBSON  LOCKHART. 

in  his  set."  We  are  told  that  England  is  the 
country  of  the  wealthy,  and  that  the  king  is 
seldom  seen;  although  the  royal  start  from  St. 
James  for  Windsor  was  seen  and  described  as 
going  off  "  at  a  slapping  pace." 

But  it  was  in  that  dreamland  of  Rogers'  that 
Cooper's  heart   found   its   greatest  joy.     There 

[  181  ] 


JOANNA  BAILLIE. 


SIR  THOMAS  LAWRENCE. 


he  met  the  artists,  —  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence, 
handsome  and  well-mannered;  Leslie,  mild,  car 
ing  little  for  aught  save  his  tastes  and  affec 
tions;  and  Newton,  who  "  thinks  himself  "  Eng 
lish.  Here,  dining,  he  meets  again  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  his  son-in-law  and  later  biographer,  Mr. 
Lockhart,  Sir  Walter's  daughters,  Mrs.  Lock- 
hart  and  Miss  Anne  Scott.  He  says  Mrs.  Lock- 
hart  "  is  just  the  woman  to  have  success  in 
Paris,  by  her  sweet,  simple  manners."  He  had 
a  stately  chat  with  Mrs.  Siddons,  and  Sir  James 
Mackintosh  he  called  "  the  best  talker  I  have 
ever  seen;  the  only  man  I  have  yet  met  in  Eng 
land  who  appears  to  have  any  clear  or  definite 
notions  of  us."  Rare  indeed  were  these  flash- 

[  182  ] 


lights  of  genius  that  Samuel  Rogers  charmed 
to  his  "  feasts  of  reason  and  flow  of  soul." 

With  Mr.  Southby  Cooper  went  to  see  Cole 
ridge  at  Highgate,  where,  he  says,  "  our  recep 
tion  was  frank  and  friendly,  the  poet  coming 
out  to  meet  us  in  his  morning-gown.  I  rose  to 
take  a  nearer  view  of  a  little  picture,  when  Mr. 
Coleridge  told  me  it  was  by  his  friend  Allston." 
From  the  bard  of  Highgate  they  went  to  see 
Miss  Joanna  Baillie  at  Hampstead,  and  found 
her  "  a  little,  quiet  woman,  a  deeply-seated  earn 
estness  about  her  that  bespoke  the  higher  im 
pulses  within;  no  one  would  have  thought  her 
little  person  contained  the  elements  of  a  tragedy." 

An  Amsterdam  engagement  for  early  June 
called  Cooper  and  his  family  from  London  be- 


HOUSE  OF  THE  GILLMAN'S,  HIGHGATE,  LONDON. 

[  183  ] 


fore  the  end  of  the  season,  and  prompted  him 
to  say,  "  The  force  of  things  has  moved  heavier 
bodies."  Quitting  England  was  by  no  means 
easy,  but  "  the  weather  \vas  fine  and  the  North 
Sea  smooth  as  a  dish."  They  paddled  the  whole 
night  long  in  their  "  solid  good  vessel,  but  slow 


BOOM  KEY  AT  ROTTERDAM. 

of  foot."  With  morning  "  a  low  spit  of  land 
hove  in  sight,  and  -a  tree  or  a  church  tower  " 
rose  out  of  the  water,  —  this  was  Holland.  At 
Rotterdam  "  the  boat  was  soon  alongside  the 
Boom  Key."  With  some  fluttering  about  the 
dykes  and  windmills  of  Dutchland,  a  flight 
through  Belgium  soon  brought  them  once  more 
to  Paris. 

Cooper  was  a  keen  observer  and  a  calm  critic 
of  both  home  and  foreign  folk.     That  he  was 

[  184  ] 


stirred  to  strong-  words  by  unpleasing  comments 
on  his  country  appears  in  his  "  Notions  of 
Americans:  Picked  up  by  a  Traveling  Bache 
lor."  This  book  of  facts,  showing  wide  and 
accurate  knowledge,  was  intended  to  enlighten 
and  clear  away  mistakes.  Instead  of  this,  it 
drew  upon  its  writer  critical  fire  both  at  home 
and  abroad,  and  was  the  first  of  the  many 
shadows  of  his  after  life.  His  stories  of  our 
new  country  taught  Europe  more  about  America 
than  Europe  had  ever  learned  before.  His  love 
for,  and  faith  in,  his  own  country  were  strong. 
Abroad  he  was  a  staunch  defender  of  her  free 
institutions,  and  foreigners  deemed  him  more 
proud  of  his  American  birth  than  of  his  literary 
birthright  of  genius;  and  yet,  at  home  he  was 
voted  "  an  enemy  of  all  that  the  fathers  of  the 
Republic  fought  for."  However,  the  opinion  of 
those  who  knew  Cooper  best  was  given  by  his 
Bread  and  Cheese  Club  friend,  Dr.  John  Wake- 
field  Francis,  as,  —  "  He  was  an  American  inside 
and  out  —  a  thorough  patriot."  It  was  said  that 
as  an  aristocratic  American  he  never  presented 
letters  of  introduction.  Yet  in  foreign  lands  his 
society  was  sought  by  the  most  distinguished  men 
of  his  time.  However  of  this,  the  rare  pleasure 

[  185  ] 


of   these   London   days   he   ever   held   in   warm 
remembrance. 

Flying  from  the  summer  heat  of  Paris,  the 
family  soon  left  for  Switzerland  with  a  team  of 
sturdy  Norman  horses,  a  postilion  riding  the 
near  beast.  It  slipped  and  fell,  rolled  over  and 
caught  its  rider's  leg  beneath,  but  was  saved  its 
breaking  by  the  make  of  his  old-fashioned  boot, 
"  so  with  a  wry  face  and  a  few  sacr-r-r-cs,  he 
limped  back  to  his  saddle." 

In  their  salon  of  the  inn  at  Avallon  were 
curious  emblem  pictures  of  different  nationali 
ties:  one  a  belle  of  fair  hair;  another  a  belle 
of  raven  locks ;  a  third  a  belle  of  brown  ringlets ; 
-  all  these  for  Europe ;  but  for  the  United  States 
was  "a  wench  as  black  as  coal!"  So  thought 
Switzerland  of  us  in  the  days  of  1828.  One 
lovely  day  Cooper  "  persuaded  A.  to  share  "  his 
seat  on  the  carriage-box.  Rounding  a  ruin 
height  "  she  exclaimed,  '  What  a  beautiful 
cloud !  '  In  the  direction  of  her  finger  I  saw," 
wrote  Cooper,  "  a  mass  that  resembled  the 
highest  wreath  of  a  cloud;  its  whiteness  greatly 
surpassed  the  brilliancy  of  vapor.  I  called  to 
the  postilion  and  pointed  out  the  object.  '  Mont 
Blanc,  Monsieur !  '  It  wras  an  inspiration  when 

[  186  ] 


seventy  miles  by  an  air  line  from  it.  This  first 
view  of  the  hoary  Alps  always  makes  a  thrilling 
moment." 

Later  came  morning  rides  and  evenine  strolls. 


MONT  BLANC. 

The  modest  stone  country-house  which  they 
took  for  economy  and  the  author's  love  of  quiet 
home-life  was  La  Lorraine,  and  belonged  to  the 
Count  de  Portales  of  Neufchatel.  There  was 
a  high  field  near,  where,  one  day,  when  Mr. 
Cooper  was  teaching  his  little  son  Paul  the 
"  mysteries  of  flying  a  kite,"  they  caught  the 
rare  fleeting  glimpse  of  a  glittering  glacier.  La 
Lorraine,  only  half  a  mile  from  Berne,  is  noted 
as  "  one  of  the  pretty  little  retired  villas  that 
dot  the  landscape/'  with  "  the  sinuous  Aar 
glancing  between  "  it  and  the  town.  The  trim 

[  187  ] 


LA  LORRAINE  VIEW  OF  BERNESE  ALPS. 

little  garden  and  half -ruined  fountain  were  well 
shaded  by  trees,  and  the  adjoining  farmhouse 
and  barn-yard,  all  Swiss,  made  a  fine  playground 
for  the  children's  summer  holiday.  The  house 
and  its  furniture  they  found  "  faultlessly  neat." 
There  was  a  near-by  common  where  hoops,  rope- 
jumping,  and  kites  could  be  enjoyed.  From  this 
point  and  the  cottage  windows  "  was  a  very 
beautiful  view  of  the  Alps  —  an  unfailing  source 
of  delight,  especially  during  the  evening  hours." 
Cooper  has  given  some  fine  descriptions  of  their 
life  in  the  glow  of  this  Alpine  country;  of  har 
vest-time  and  mountain  gleaners.  He  tells  of  a 
visit  to  Hindelbank  to  see  the  sculptor  Nahl's 
wondrous  idealism  in  stone,  which  represents  a 
young  mother,  the  pastor's  wife,  and  her  babe. 

[  188  ] 


The  infant  lies  in  passive  innocence  on  its 
mother's  bosom,  while  her  face  is  radiant  with 
the  light  of  a  holy  joy  on  the  resurrection 
morn.  Her  hand  is  slightly  raised  in  reverent 
greeting  of  her  Redeemer.  Of  this  work  Cooper 
writes :  "  I  take  it  to  be  the  most  sublime  pro 
duction  of  its  kind  in  the  world."  And  they 
found  it  in  "  one  of  the  very  smallest,  humblest 
churches  in  Europe." 

In  the  small,  uncarpeted  study  of  La  Lorraine 
a  new  book  was  planned  and  begun.  For  the 
story's  setting  the  author's  mind  turned  to  the 
far-away,  new  home-country,  and  early  frontier 
life  in  Connecticut.  There  he  brought  the  trans 
atlantic  Puritan  and  the  North  American  In 
dian  together  —  the  strong,  stern  Puritan  family 
affection  in  close  contact  with  the  red-man's 


NAHL'S  MEMORIAL  TO  MADAME  LANGHAN. 

[  189  ] 


savage  cruelty,  dignity,  and  his  adoption  of  a 
white  child.  A  fair-haired  little  girl  is  torn 
from  her  mother  and  cared  for  by  a  young  In 
dian  chief,  once  a  captive  in  the  white  settle- 


NARRA-M  ATTAH. 

ment.  Years  pass  over  the  bereaved  family, 
when  an  Indian  outbreak  restores  the  lost  child 
to  her  parents'  roof  as  "  Narra-Mattah,"  the 
devoted  wife  of  a  Narraganset  warrior-chief, 
and  the  young  mother  of  his  little  son.  This 
book  draws  a  strong  picture  of  pure  family 
devotion;  even  the  old  grandfather's  heart, 
beneath  his  stiff  Puritan  garb,  beats  an  unfor 
gettable  part.  Sorrow  for  the  lost  child  gave 
the  story  its  name  —  "  The  Wept  of  Wish-ton- 
Wish "  (then  thought  to  mean  in  the  Indian 
language,  '  Place  of  the  Whip-poor-will  ")  — 

[  190  ] 


and  it  has  been  said  to  describe  the  settlement  of 
the  Fenimore  family  in  America. 

Many  and  interesting  were  their  excursions. 
One  was  to  Interlachen,  with  its  glimpse  of  the 


CONNECTICUT 
EMIGRANTS. 


Jungfrau,  and  the  Lauterbrunnen  valleys  "  full 
of  wonder  and  delight."  At  Lauterbrunnen  they 
walked  to  the  famous  Falls  of  Stanbbach,  which 
Cooper  describes  and  explains  as  meaning  "  Tor 
rents  of  Dust." 

As  the  summer  had  fled  autumn  winds  began 
to  whistle  through  the  lindens  of  La  Lorraine, 
and  the  snow  began  to  fall  upon  its  pretty  gar 
den,  warning  the  author  to  fly  south  with  his 
fledglings  and  their  mother  before  the  Alpine 


FALL  OF  THE  STAUBBACH. 

passes  were  closed  by  real  winter.  Cooper  re 
signed  the  consulate  at  Lyons,  which  \vas  given 
him  solely  "  to  avoid  the  appearance  of  going 
over  to  the  enemy  "  while  abroad.  A  carriage 
and  two  servitors  were  engaged.  One  of  these, 
Caspar,  had  his  soldiering  under  the  first  Napo 
leon,  and  many  were  the  camp  tales  he  had  to 
tell  in  a  way  to  please  his  employers.  At  the 
old  town  of  Alstetten,  with  painted  wooden 
houses  at  the  foot  of  the  Am  Stoss,  they  ar 
rived,  more  than  ready  for  breakfast,  which  was 
somewhat  delayed  because,  said  Cooper,  "  our 
German  was  by  no  means  classical;  and  Eng 
lish,  Italian,  and  French  were  all  Hebrew  to  the 
good  people  of  the  inn."  It  was  "  easy  to  make 

[  192  ] 


the  hostess  understand  that  we  wished  to  eat,  - 
but  what  would  we  eat?  In  this  crisis  I  be 
thought  me  of  a  long-neglected  art,  and  crowed 
like  a  cock.  The  shrill  strain  hardly  reached 
the  ear  of  the  good  woman  before  it  was  an 
swered  by  such  laughter  as  none  but  village 
lungs  could  raise.  William  —  an  admirable 
mimic  —  began  to  cackle  like  a  hen.  In  due 
time  we  had  a  broiled  fowl,  an  omelette,  and 
boiled  eggs."  At  another  place  where  they 
stopped  for  mid-day  luncheon  Cooper  writes: 
"  We  asked  for  a  fruit-tart,  and  —  odors  and 
nosegays !  —  they  gave  us  one  made  of  onions, 
which  they  thought  very  good  fruit  in  its  way, 
and  we  ate  exactly  as  much  as  we  wished." 

"  The  baths  of  Pfaffer,"  he  wrote  "  in  my  own 
unworthy  person  have  wrought  a  sudden  and 
wondrous  cure  " :  and  of  his  visit  to  the  Devil's 
Bridge  over  the  Reuss :  "  We  entered  a  gorge 
between  frightful  rocks,  where  the  river  was 
fretting  and  struggling  to  get  in  before  us." 
From  the  yawning  mouth  of  a  gloomy  cave  came 
the  tinkling  bells  of  pack-horses  to  Italy  by  the 
St.  Gothard.  To  the  roar  of  the  river  and  the 
rushing  of  winds  without  they  plunged  through 
this  dark  "  Hole  of  Uri,"  which  brought  them  to 


THE  DEVIL'S  BRIDGE. 


a  rugged  rock-rift  pass  with  but  a  thread  of 
heaven's  blue  far  above  them;  and  here  "a 
slight,  narrow  bridge  of  a  single  arch  spanned 
the  gorge  with  a  hardihood  that  caused  one  to 
shudder."  Its  slender,  unrailed,  fifteen  feet  of 
width  was  eighty  of  span,  and  one  hundred 
above  the  boiling  torrent  that  fell  on  broken  rocks 
below,  and  over  it;  wrote  Cooper:  "The  wind 
blew  so  furiously  that  I  really  wished  for  a  rope 
to  hold  on  by.  This  was  the  far-famed  Devil's 


FERNEY,  VOLTAIRE'S  LAKE  LEMAN  HOME. 

Bridge;  other  bridges  may  have  been  built  by 
imps,  but  Beelzebub  himself  had  a  hand  in  this." 
They  enjoyed  the  beauty  of  Lake  Geneva,  and 
were  charmed  by  the  attractions  of  "  Ferney," 
Voltaire's  home  on  Leman's  shore,  and  enjoyed 


THE  SIMPLON  PASS. 

the  solemn  gorge-valley  of  the  Rhone,  and 
through  the  Simplon  passed  into  fair  Italy.  As 
they  "  drew  near  a  small  chapel  in  a  rock  Cas 
per  flourished  his  whip,  calling  out  the  word 


FLORENCE,  ITALY. 
[    196  1 


ED  'nil  ml 

giiiuj    Mjj    jig! 

t      i : 


PALAZZO  RICASOLI,  FLORENCE,  ITALY. 

'Italia!'  I  pulled  off  my  hat  in  reverence/' 
wrote  the  author.  Down  the  steep  mountains, 
over  bridged  torrents,  past  the  hill-towns  and 
valley-lands,  they  came  to  the  City  of  the  Lily, 
—  fair  Florence  of  the  Arno.  "  As  early  as 
1829,"  Cooper  thought,  "  the  unification  of  Italy 
was  irresistible." 

In  Florence  a  home  was  soon  found  in  the 
Palazzo  Ricasoli,  Via  del  Cocomero.  Lofty  of 
ceiling — twenty  feet  —  was  their  apartment,  in 
which  they  enjoyed  "  two  noble  bed-rooms,  sev 
eral  smaller  ones,  a  large  drawing-room,  dining- 
room,  baths,  a  small  court  and  garden  within 
the  iron  gates,  and  all  for  the  modest  sum  of 
sixty  dollars  per  month."  The  oil  burned  in 


their  lamps  the  home-folk  "  would  be  happy  to 
use  on  their  salads."  Here,  around  the  cheer 
ing  glow  of  great  wood-fires,  the  American  au 
thor  would  gather  his  friends,  old  and  new. 
From  Otsego  days  a  blazing  hearth-stone  ever 
rejoiced  his  cheery  nature,  and  his  way  of  lay 
ing  the  wood  and  nursing  the  flames  horrified 
his  Italian  servants  as  \vaste  of  fuel.  The  chill 
of  the  tra  montana  brought  into  this  circle  of 
warmth  and  light  many  eminent  foreigners ;  and 
of  home-country  folk,  that  true  American,  Hora 
tio  Greenough,  often  basked  in  the  bright  glow 
of  the  author's  wood-fires  at  Florence. 

Later  Greenough  wrote:  "  Fenimore  Cooper 
saved  me  from  despair  after  my  return  to 
Italy.  He  employed  me  as  I  wish  to  be  em 
ployed;  and  up  to  this  moment  has  been  a 
father  to  me."  Greenough's  last  work  was  a 
bust  of  his  illustrious  friend,  the  American 
novelist,  which  he  proposed  to  cast  in  bronze,  at 
his  own  expense,  and  place  in  the  field  where 
stands  the  Old  Mill  in  Newport,  and  where  the 
opening  scene  of  "  The  Red  Rover "  is  laid. 
He  took  counsel  with  Cooper's  friends  as  to  a 
monument  to  the  author,  "and  among  his  papers 
was  found  an  elaborate  design  for  the  work. 

[  198  ] 


Cooper  loved  to  encourage  rising  talent  in 
young  artists.  He  gave  them  orders,  and  also  his 
cheering  sympathy.  One  of  these  wrote  that 
Cooper  gave  him  a  free  letter-of-credit  on  his 
banker  in  Paris,  and  added:  "  I  had  occasion  to 
use  it  more  than  once,  and  my  drafts  were  al 
ways  cheerfully  accepted.  Since  then  I  have 
paid  him,  though  he  never  would  have  asked  for 
the  money;  nobody  but  he  and  I  ever  knew  of 
the  transaction."  A  Boston  man  writes  of  his 
visit  to  the  Florence  studio  of  Greenough:  "  My 


eye  fell  upon  a  bust  which  awakened  sea  and 
forest  pictures,  —  the  spars  of  an  elegant  craft, 
the  lofty  figure  of  a  hunter,  the  dignified  bear- 


BUST  OF  JAMI.S  I-'KNIMORF,  COOPER. 
By  Horatio  Greenough. 

ing  of  a  mysterious  pilot."  It  was  the  bust  of 
Fenimore  Cooper.  Of  the  sculptor  it  was  noted 
that  "  he  always  referred  with  emotion  to  the 
gleam  of  sunshine  which  encouraged  him  at 
this  crisis,  in  the  friendship  of  our  late  renowned 
novelist,  Cooper/' 

In  the  Pitti  one  day  they  passed  before 
Raphael's  Madonna  del  Trono,  and  the  sculptor 
pointed  out  to  his  companion  the  fine  drawing 
in  the  two  little  angel  figures  of  the  fore 
ground,  in  the  act  of  singing.  Cooper  asked 
if  the  subject  would  not  lend  itself  to  sculp- 

[  200  ] 


ture;  afterwards  one  of  his  daughters  copied 
the  figures,  and  the  result  of  the  mutual  interest 
in  the  design  was  an  order  from  Cooper  for  a 


CHANTING  CHERUBS. 

group  which  in  a  few  months  Greenough  exe 
cuted  in  marble.  It  was  exhibited  in  America 
under  the  title  of  "  The  Chanting  Cherubs." 
It  was  Cooper's  "  Chanting  Cherubs "  -  the 
first  group  of  its  kind  from  an  American  chisel 
-  that  led  to  Greenough 's  order  for  the  statue 
of  Washington,  and  inspired  the  pen  of  Richard 
Henry  Dana  to  write: 

Whence  came  ye,  cherubs?   from  the  moon? 

Or  from  some  shining  star? 
Ye,  sure,  are  sent  a  blessed  boon, 

From  kinder  worlds  afar ; 
For  while  I  look  my  heart  is  all  delight: 
Earth  hath  no  creatures  half  so  pure  and  bright. 
[  201  ] 


B"- 


Later  on  Greenough  came  to  them  "  all  booted 
and  bearded  beyond  recognition  "  save  in  "  his 
walk  and  his  talk." 

During  Cooper's  later  American  press  troubles 
his  close  friend,  Greenough,  wrote  him :  "  You 
lose  your  hold  on  the  American  public  with  rub 
bing  down  their  skins  with  brick-bats."  And 
yet,  during  Greenough's  dark  days,  he  said: 
"  What  is  the  use  of  blowing  up  bladders  for 
posterity  to  jump  upon  for  the  mere  pleasure 
of  hearing  them  crack?  "  The  author's  keen 
delight  in  architecture,  sculpture,  and  painting 
then  gave  him  daily  pleasure  in  the  churches, 
palaces,  and  art-galleries  of  Bella  Fircnzi.  Fa 
miliar  from  youth  with  his  father's  engravings 
of  antique  sculpture  subjects,  he  writes  of  his 
first  glimpses  of  the  originals  in  the  Pitti :  "  I 
stood,  hat  in  hand,  involuntarily  bowing  to  the 
circle  of  marble  figures  that  surrounded  me." 

Attired  in  "  a  black  coat,  breeches,  and  vest 
with  steel  buttons,  lace  frills  and  ruff,  a  sword 
and  a  dress-hat,"  our  author  was  presented  at 
the  brilliant  Tuscan  Court.  Grand  Duke  Leo 
pold  II  left  on  Cooper's  mind  a  strong  impres 
sion  of  integrity  of  character;  his  simplicity  and 
justice  were  borne  out  in  his  greeting:  "They 

[  203  ] 


tell  me  you  are  the  author  of  many  books,  but 
as  it  has  never  been  my  good  fortune  to  meet 
with  them,  I  can  say  no  more  on  this  subject 


COUNT  ST.  LEU. 

than  that  I  have  heard  them  well  spoken  of  by 
those  who  have."  Cooper  was  asked  "  a  hun 
dred  questions  as  to  America,"  and  assured  of 
the  prince's  pleasure  in  seeing  him  at  court  and 
his  being  in  Tuscany.  When  leaving  Florence 
Cooper  paid  his  parting  respects  at  the  Pitti  in 
an  hour's  pleasant  converse,  and  then  presented 
the  Grand  Duke  with  a  copy  of  "  The  Wept  of 
Wish-ton-Wish,"  printed  in  his  city  of  the  Arno. 
Here  Cooper  and  his  family  had  some  gay  car 
nival  days  with  their  various  friends.  Among 

[  204  ] 


them  was  the  Count  St.  Leu,  son  of  Queen 
Hortense  and  King  Louis  of  Holland,  and  the 
author's  sometimes  host,  and  "  one  of  the  hand 
somest  men  of  his  age  "  that  Cooper  ever  met. 
We  are  told  of  the  Count :  "  He  lived  in  good 
style,  having  a  fine  villa  where  I  dined  lately, 
and  a  palace  in  town."  By  those  nearest  him 
he  was  addressed  "  your  Majesty,"  and  held 
some  "  little  show  "  of  royalty.  Princess  Char 
lotte,  his  wife,  and  daughter  of  Joseph  Bona 
parte,  the  author  also  knew.  He  met  Madame 


x 


MOTHER  OF  NAPOLEON  I. 


MADAME  MERE. 


Mere,  who  is  described  as  "  a  slight  old  lady, 
with  little  remains  of  beauty  except  fine  black 
eyes."  She  was  quiet,  simple;  in  short,  motherly, 
when  seen  by  Cooper  the  winter  of  1828-29. 

[  205  ] 


Longing  for  the  open  country  came  with  the 
early  Italian  spring,  and  a  hillside  villa  just  out 
side  the  walls  of  Florence  was  secured.  A 
narrow  lane  ran  between  this  villa  St.  Illario 
and  its  rustic  church  of  the  same  name.  The 
villa  had  two  projecting  wings  with  belvederes 
and  roofed  terraces,  one  of  which  connected 
with  the  author's  study.  Herein  he  wrote  of 
"the  witchery  of  Italy"  -the  land  he  loved 
next  to  his  o\vn.  His  letters  give  glorious 
glimpses  of  the  Arno,  their  strolls  to  Bellos- 
guardo's  heights,  the  churches,  monasteries, 
costumes,  and  songs  of  the  peasants  —  all  at 
tuned  to  poesy.  Frequent  were  the  exchanges 
of  civility  between  the  author's  study  and  the 
good  old  curato  across  the  lane.  Cooper  wrote 
of  him :  "  The  man  has  some  excellent  figs,  and 
our  cook,  having  discovered  it,  lays  his  trees 
under  contribution."  He  continues:  "  One  small, 
green-coated,  fresh  fig  is  the  precise  point  of 
felicity.  But  the  good  curato,  besides  his  figs, 
has  a  pair  of  uneasy  bells  in  his  church-tower 
that  are  exactly  forty-three  feet  from  my  ears, 
which  ring  in  pairs  six  or  eight  times  daily. 
There  are  matins,  noontide,  vespers,  to  say 
nothing  of  christenings,  weddings,  and  funerals." 

[  206  ] 


Then  follows  a  rare  account  of  a  night  funeral 
service  ending  beneath  his  study  walls. 

During  the  great  Florentine  fete  of  St.  John, 


CHURCH  OF  ST.  ILLARIO  AND  NARROW  LANE. 

.. ,  . 


VILLA,  ST.  ILLARIO. 

the  patron  saint  of  the  city, --from  the  Count 
St.  Leu's  windows  on  the  Arno,  —  the  author 
and  his  family  saw  the  display  of  gala-boats 
decked  with  thousands  of  colored-paper  lan- 

[  207  ] 


CHARIOT  RACES,  FLORENCE. 

terns.  They  enjoyed  the  chariot  races  in  the 
wide  Piazza  Santa  Maria  Novella,  where  the 
small  obelisks  point  the  start  and  finish  of  the 
races.  These  were  followed  by  the  corso  del 
barberi —  barbed  horse-races  without  riders  — 
down  the  longest  street  of  the  town.  Then  fol 
lowed  the  French  Minister's  masked  ball,  amus 
ing  as  well  as  splendid,  readers  of  Cooper's 
"  Italy  "  will  find.  But  more  than  all,  on  their 
return  to  Villa  St.  Illario,  were  they  charmed 
with  the  brilliant  illumination  of  the  noble 
cathedral  dome,  which  against  the  dark  skies 
"  looked  like  a  line  engraving  of  fire."  So 
closed  this  festa  of  Florence  in  the  grand-ducal 
days,  bright  in  gay  gear  and  alive  with  every 
body,  from  prince  to  contadini.  Then  he  came 

[  208  ] 


in  happy  touch  with  the  impulsive,  laughing, 
singing,  dark-haired  Italians,  and  to  the  finer 
aspects  of  their  nature  he  was  partial.  They 
wrere  in  sharp  contrast  to  the  Puritan  band  in 
the  valley  of  the  Connecticut,  which  his  pen 
pictured  in  the  finishing  touches  of  "  The  Wept 
of  Wish-ton-Wish,"  when  in  his  study  at  Casa 
Rlcasoli. 

Press  censorship  and  no  English  printing- 
house  in  Florence  forced  Cooper  to  leave  his 
family  and  go  to  Marseilles.  His  letters  give 
some  pretty  pictures  which  passed  his  carriage 
windows  on  the  way.  Of  Genoa:  "  The  seaward 
prospect  was  glorious."  The  islands  "  were  bor 
rowed  by  Leonardo,"  and  a  circuit  of  the  city 


GENOA. 
[   209   ] 


walls  was  made  on  horseback.  Full  of  charm 
and  interest  was  the  road  "  on  the  margin  of 
the  sea  "  -  from  Genoa  to  Nice.  In  his  "  Ex 
cursions  in  Italy  "  appears  of  Genoa :  "  I  looked 
back  with  longing  eyes  at  Genoa  la  Snpcrba  and 
thought  it  well  deserved  the  title."  "  The  whole 
of  this  coast,"  he  wrote,  "  is  as  picturesque  and 
glorious  as  the  imagination  can  picture  it."  He 
tells  of  feluccas  and  other  water-craft  that 
claimed  a  sailor's  eye;  and  the  landward  views 
of  Mentone,  Santa  Monica,  the  heights,  arches, 
and  passes,  and  the  wasp-like  Villa  Franca, 
perched  on  its  ledge  up  two  hundred  feet  -  -  for 
fear  of  "  the  bears  "  said  the  guide.  In  Mar 
seilles  an  English  printer  was  secured  and 
brought  back  to  Florence.  Besides  being  deaf 
and  dumb  his  name  —  Richard  Heavysides  - 
bore  out  the  burden  of  an  unfortunate  temper 
to  the  necessity  of  sending  this  printer  back  to 
Marseilles.  Finally,  by  the  kindness  of  the 
grand  duke's  librarian,  a  small  edition  of  "  The 
Wept  of  Wish-ton-Wish  "  was  printed,  and  early 
sheets  sent  to  publishers  in  Paris,  London,  and 
Philadelphia.  In  England  the  book  was  called 
"  The  Borderers,"  being  based  on  the  story  of 
Eunice  Williams  of  Deerfield,  Mass.,  but  it  was 

[    210    ] 


more  highly  valued  in  England  and  France  than 
in  America. 

The  Mediterranean  blue  on  Cooper's  journey 
to  Marseilles  allured  him  into  conceiving  an 
other  sea  tale.  Its  writing,  however,  was  de 
layed  by  a  mild  return  of  the  old  fever  that  was 
induced  by  the  summer  sun  of  Italy.  Longing, 
therefore,  for  the  water  breezes,  mid-summer 
found  him  within  "  sight  and  sound "  of  the 
sea  waves.  He  writes :  "  July  29  the  whole 
family  went  to  Leghorn,  where  the  salt  air  was 
grateful,  and  I  snuffed  the  odor  of  this  delight 
ful  sea  with  a  feeling  that  was  '  redolent  of  joy 
and  youth/  We  feasted  our  eyes  on  the  pic 
turesque  rigs  and  barks  of  those  poetical  waters, 
and  met  several  men  from  the  Levant,  —  an 


LEGHORN. 
[    211    ] 


Algerian  Rais  calmly  smoking  his  chibouque  on 
the  deck  of  his  poleacre,  many  Sardinians,  Tus 
cans,  Jews,  and  three  Russians.  Rowing  under 
the  bows  of  a  Yankee,  I  found  one  seated  on 
the  windlass  playing  on  the  flute,  —  as  cool  a 
piece  of  impudence  as  can  well  be  imagined  for 
a  Massachusetts  man  to  practice  in  Italy!  The 
delicious  odors  of  the  seaport  were  inhaled  with 
a  delight  no  language  can  describe." 

At  Leghorn  Cooper  engaged  a  Genovese 
felucca,  "  La  Bella  Genovese,  —  a  craft  of  thirty 
tons,  beautiful  mould,  lateen-rigged,  carrying  two 
of  that  sail  and  a  jib,  and  ten  men  for  her 
crew."  Aboard  this  small  vessel  the  author  and 
his  family  spent  six  days  of  pure  pleasure,  yet 
"  somewhat  bitten  by  fleas."  They  touched  at 
Elba  and  other  islands,  and  skirted  the  coasts 
of  Tuscany,  the  Roman  States,  and  so  on  to 
Naples,  of  which  Cooper  wrote :  "  Oh  Napoli ! 
glorious,  sunny,  balmy  Napoli!"  This  cruising 
along  the  western  coast  of  Italy  in  the  Bella 
Genovese  suggested  to  the  author  one  of  his 
favorite  stories,  "  Wing-and-Wing,"  which  was 
published  twelve  years  later.  In  Naples  sev 
eral  weeks  were  passed  at  a  hotel ;  thence  to  a 
short-time  home  of  their  own  on  the  cliffs  of  Sor- 

[    212    ] 


NAPLES. 

rento.  The  very  air  of  Italy  was  a  delight  to  this 
sunny-hearted  sailor,  who  so  deeply  felt  the 
charm  of  all  Italian  nature.  "  The  house  we  have 
taken,"  he  wrote,  "  is  said  to  be  the  one  in  which 
Tasso  was  born.  It  stands  on  the  brow  of  the 
cliffs,  within  the  walls  of  the  town,  and  in  plain 
sight  of  every  object  of  interest  on  the  bay.  We 
occupy  the  principal  floor  only,  though  I  have 
taken  the  entire  house.  There  is  a  chapel  beneath 
the  grand  sala,  and  kitchens  and  offices  some 
where  in  those  lower  regions.  We  enter  by  a 
porte-cochere  into  a  court  which  has  a  well  with 
a  handsome  marble  curb  and  a  flight  of  broad, 
marble  steps  fit  for  a  palace."  Seaward  several 
rooms  led  to  the  sala,  fifty  feet  long,  and  facing 
the  water.  Cooper  tells  of  its  tiled  floor,  gilded 

[  213  ] 


CASA  TASSO  AT  SORRENTO. 

couches,  chairs,  and  marble  busts.  The  great 
charm  of  the  house  was  its  terrace,  fifty  feet 
long  by  twenty-five  wide,  and  protected  by  a 
stone  balustrade,  massive  and  carved,  hanging 
over  the  blue  Mediterranean,  and  giving  to  view 
Vesuvius,  Ischia,  and  all  the  coast  of  glorious 
sea.  Hearing  an  outcry  from  his  son  Paul  one 
day,  his  father  found  the  boy  with  his  head  fast 
between  two  of  these  great  spindles  -  "  in  a 
way  that  frightened  me  as  well  as  the  young 
ster  himself.  It  was  like  being  imbedded  in  a 
rock.  Below  the  terrace  runs  a  narrow  beach, 
where  our  children  delight  to  play,  picking  up 
shells  and  more  than  shells,  —  ancient  mosaics. 
There  is  a  little  room  off  from  the  terrace  I 
use  for  writing,"  and  where  he  could  watch  the 

r  214 1 


beauty  of  the  sea.  Much  of  "  The  Water 
Witch  "  was  rapidly  written  in  this  study  on 
the  inspiring  terrace  of  Casa  Tasso,  Vesuvius  in 
sight.  Daily  excursions  were  made.  When 
four-of-the-clock  threw  the  rock  shadows  far 
over  the  water,  they  went  a-boating.  On  land 
they  made  "  donkey  "  and  "  non-donkey  "  jaunts. 
Capo  di  Monti,  overlooking  the  town  landing- 
place,  was  also  a  favorite  resting-place,  and  gave 
some  bright  pictures  of  native  life.  By  an 
amusing  practice  of  giving  their  king  —  a  fine 
old  mendicant  with  a  lame  leg  —  and  his  daily- 
growing  train  a  grano  a  day  at  the  gate,  Cooper 
and  his  family  on  their  excursions  were  freed 
from  an  army  of  beggars.  All  were  grateful, 
and  wished  the  American  admiral  "  a  thousand 


THE  TERRACE-STUDY. 

[  215  i 


years,"  -  save  one  poor  creature,  who  blundered 
into  "  a  hundred,"  upon  which  his  angered  fel 
lows  cudgeled  him  with  blows  and  words  into 
shouting,  "  A  thousand  years,  and  long  ones." 
Donkeys  and  boats  were  taken  for  Amalfi  with 
her  convent-crowned  cliffs  above  the  sea.  Not 
until  the  chill  tra  m out ana  and  the  snow-pow 
dered  mountain-tops  reminded  them  that  but  one 
fire  could  be  kindled  in  their  vast  Sorrento  home 
did  they  leave  it  one  morning,  with  ninety-six 
of  their  well-wisher  beggars  in  the  court  to  bid 
them  good-speed  on  their  way  to  the  Eternal 
City. 

In  the  autumn  of  1830  Cooper  and  his  family 
entered  Rome  through  the  gate  of  St.  John,  and 
drove  across  the  city  to  the  Hotel  de  Paris,  just 
below  the  Pincio  and  near  the  Porta  del  Popolo. 
After  dinner,  with  still  an  hour  of  daylight,  and 
eager  to  see  what  Rome  was  like,  Cooper  called 
a  guide,  and,  holding  Paul  by  the  hand,  sallied 
forth  through  the  narrow,  crooking  streets  over 
the  bridge  of  the  angels  to  St.  Peters.  :(  Push 
ing  aside  the  door,  I  found  myself  in  the  nave 
of  the  noblest  temple  in  which  any  religious 
rites  were  ever  celebrated.  To  me  there  was 
no  disappointment,  and  as  I  stood  gazing  at  the 

[  216  ] 


ST.  PETERS,  ROME,  EXTERIOR. 

glorious  pile,  the  tears  forced  themselves  from 
my  eyes.  Even  little  Paul  was  oppressed  with 
the  vastness  of  the  place,  for  he  clung  close  to 
my  side  and  kept  murmuring,  'What  is  this? 
What  is  this  ?  Is  this  a  church  ?  '  I  turned 
away  impressed  with  the  truth  that  if  ever  the 


ST.  PETERS,  INTERIOR. 
[    217    ] 


hand  of  man  had  raised  a  structure  to  the 
Deity  in  the  least  worthy  of  His  Majesty,  it 
was  this !  " 

The  usual  roof-tree  was   soon   found  in  the 


ADAM  MICKIEOWICZ. 

via  Ripetta,  where  their  back  windows  overlooked 
the  tawny  Tiber  and  gave  them  views  of  Castle 
St.  Angelo  and  St.  Peter's  dome  glorified  by 
each  day's  setting  sun,  and  here  was  passed  their 
winter  in  old  Rome.  The  Eternal  City's  ruins 
were  most  interesting  to  Cooper;  it  was  his 
special  delight  to  ride  for  hours  with  some 
friend  over  the  Campagna,  lingering  among 
fragments  of  structures  or  statues  of  ancient 
days.  Perhaps  none  who  rode  with  him  gave 
him  more  pleasure  than  the  famous  Polish  poet, 
Adam  Mickieowicz,  —  a  man  full  of  originality, 

[  218  ] 


genius,  and  sadness  for  the  fate  of  his  lost 
country.  All  of  this  won  Cooper's  sympathy 
and  help  in  zealous  writing  and  speaking  for 
the  suffering  Poles;  and  one,  Count  Truska- 
laskie  Wuskalaskia,  later  on  found  a  welcome  at 
Otsego  Hall. 

Our  author  also  saw  something  of  social 
Rome,  as  is  noted:  He  "was  at  a  grand  ball - 
faultless  as  to  taste  and  style  "  -  given  by  a 
prince  to  a  prince  near  to  the  royal  family  of 
England.  Of  compatriots  he  writes:  "  We  have 
had  a  dinner,  too,  in  honor  of  Washington,  at 
which  /  had  the  honor  to  preside.  You  will  be 
surprised  to  hear  that  we  sat  down  near  seventy 
Yankees  in  the  Eternal  City !  " 

"  The  Water  Witch,"  now  nearly  finished,  re- 


PORTA    RlPETTA.    WHERE    COOPER   LIVED   IX    ROME 


2ICJ     ] 


ROMAN  FORUM. 

quired  printing,  which  some  kind  Italian  friends 
nearly  brought  about  in  Rome;  but  the  book 
contained  this  sentence:  "Rome  itself  is  only 
to  be  traced  by  fallen  temples  and  buried  col 
umns,"  which  gave  offense  where  none  was  in 
tended  and  barred  the  work's  issue  there.  The 
story  was  finished  and  laid  aside  until  spring, 
when,  after  five  delightful  months  in  Rome  and 
a  few  days  at  Tivoli,  Cooper  and  his  family 
reluctantly  drove  through  the  Porta  del  Popolo. 
In  their  own  carriage,  with  four  white  horses, 
and  their  servitors  in  another  with  four  brown 
ones,  they  passed  up  the  Adriatic  coast  to  Ven 
ice.  Miss  Cooper's  "  Pages  and  Pictures  "  gives 
her  father's  graphic  account  of  this  interesting 

[    220    ] 


PORTA   DEL   POPOLO. 

journey,  —  how,  in  a  wild  mountain-road  they 
fell  in  with  pilgrims  neither  way-worn  nor  sol 
emn,  but  most  willing  to  talk.  They  seemed 
moving  pictures  with  their  staffs,  scrip,  and  scal 
lop-shell  capes,  returning  from  Rome.  Then 


FALLS  or  MARMORA  AT  TERXI. 

[    221     ] 


came  Terni  and  its  famous  waterfall  —  a  mile 
away,  they  knew,  for  they  walked  there.  Man- 
made  were  those  falls,  by  the  turning  of  a 
pretty  stream  many  hundred  years  ago.  High 
bridges  and  hermit  nooks  were  passed,  and 
then  a  long  aqueduct  with  Gothic  arches,  called 
Roman  in  the  guide-books ;  an  old  temple  turned 
into  a  church,  and  but  a  trifle  larger  than  a 
Yankee  corn-crib.  Then  over  the  fine  road  be 
yond  Foligno,  and  the  hill  Fiorito,  and  they 
rolled  easily  down  into  the  Ancona  country, 
where  they  found  the  shrine  of  Loreto.  An 
cona  gave  them  their  first  sight  of  the  Adriatic 
—  less  beautiful  in  hue  than  the  Mediterranean 

blue,     it     seemed     to     our 
travelers.       But     with     a 
sailor's       joy      in 
rope,  pitch,  and  tar, 
j. 


LORETO. 


Cooper  hurried  with  his  usual  boyish  eagerness 
to  the  port,  and  with  a  lively  interest  examined 
its  several  rusty-looking  craft.  The  next  day 
found  them  again  on  the  way,  of  which  he  writes : 
"  Walking  ahead  of  the  carriage  this  morning,  we 
amused  ourselves  on  the  beach,  the  children 
gathering  shells  on  the  shores  of  the  Adriatic." 
Short  stops  were  made  in  Bologna  and  Ferrara, 
then  northward  to  the  coast.  Afloat  and  a  pull 
for  an  hour  brought  them  to  Venice.  Through 
the  Grand  Canal  and  under  the  Rialto  they 
glided  to  the  opening  port  beyond.  They  left 
their  craft  at  the  Leone  Bianco,  or  white  lion. 
Entering,  they  found  "  a  large  paved  hall  "  a 
few  steps  above  the  water.  From  their  windows 
they  could  see  the  gliding  gondolas ;  beyond  the 
splashing  of  an  oar  no  sound 
came  from  their  movement. 
"  Everything  was  strange,"  i 

wrote   Cooper.      "Though   a 

sailor     and     accustomed     to    |_       ;>f  f^ 

'*  &' :  ''$F' '"  "' 
water,    I    had   never    seen   a  gUt 

?•.     ,#•.]&&*&       .,-^'J 

city  a-float.    It  was  now  even-         v?r;    ^•fr'T* 
ing;    but  a  fine  moon  shed-  •;*."'.  3 

ding    its    light    on    the    scene  f--:  nj-*'8  *..... 

rendered  it  fairy-like."    That  ScALLA  MINELLA,  VENICE. 

[  223  ] 


«** 

''"•* 

VENICE. 

night  a  friend  showed  him  the  other  ways  than 
the  water-ways  of  Venice.  Through  lane-like, 
shop-lined  ways,  over  bridges,  and  through  the 
Giant's  Clock-tower  he  passed  into  the  great 
square  of  St.  Mark,  with  "  much  surprise  and 
pleasure."  By  its  glittering  lamps,  and  over  it  all 
the  moonlight,  he  felt  as  if  "  transported  to  a 
scene  in  the  Arabian  Nights."  Later  he  writes: 
:'  I  have  set  up  my  own  gondola  and  we  have  been 
looking  at  the  sights."  For  weeks  their  easy 
gondola  —  which  in  form  and  lightness  reminded 
him  so  much  of  the  Indian  bark-canoe  -  "  went 
gliding  along  the  noiseless  canals,"  and  Cooper 
studied  his  Venice  for  a  purpose.  He  became 
interested  in  the  details  of  its  singular  govern 
ment  and  read  many  books  about  it.  The  heart- 

[  224  ] 


! JL 

PIAZZA  SAN  MARCO. 

less  trifling  with  sacred  personal  rights  in  order 
to  glorify  the  ruling  powers  of  San  Marco,  as 
shown  by  the  life  of  crime  in  its  secret  councils, 
seemed  terrible  to  him.  And  so  came  about  the 
thought  of  writing  a  book  in  which  both  views 
of  the  subject,  as  clear  and  just  as  his  pen  could 
draw  them,  should  be  given.  And  whoever  has 
read  "  The  Bravo"  will  know  that  it  faithfully 
pictures  Venetian  life.  The  great  Piazza,  the 
splendid  church,  the  towering  belfry,  --  rebuilt, 
-the  small  Piazza  and  its  columns;  the  Palace 
of  the  Doge,  with  its  court,  well,  giant's  stair 
way,  lions'  mouths,  dungeons  and  roof  prisons, 
and  the  Bridge-of-Sighs,  leading  to  its  neighbor, 

[  225  ] 


PALACE  OF  THE  DOGE. 

the  Prison  Building  —  all  are  here,  with  beau 
tiful  Venetia  in  the  pride  of  her  most  glorious 
days  near  their  waning.  These  and  much  more 
make  up  the  fearful  picture  of  Venice's  cold 
cruelty,  as  revealed  to  the  author  of  '  The 
Bravo "  in  authentic  historical  records.  Gel 
somina,  the  jailer's  daughter,  a  sweet  and  deli 
cately-drawn  character,  got  her  name  and  gen 
eral  character  from  real  life.  Miss  Cooper 
writes  that  when  their  "  family  was  living  on 
the  cliffs  of  Sorrento  a  young  peasant  girl  be 
came  one  of  the  household,  —  half  nurse,  half 
playfellow  to  the  children.  She  bore  the  sweet 
name  of  Gelsomina.  Simple,  innocent,  and 
childlike,  yet  faithful  to  duty,  Gelsomina  was 

L  226  ] 


TASSO'S  WELL. 

soon  in  high  favor  with  great  and  small,  and,  in 
charge  of  the  young  flock,  made  one  of  every 
family  party  about  the  bay."  At  such  times 
"  she  was  always  in  gay  costume,  —  light-blue 
silk  jacket  with  gold  lace;  a  flowing  skirt;  her 
dark  hair  well  garnished  with  long  golden  pins 
and  bodkins;  a  gold  chain  of  manifold  strands 
encircled  her  throat,  and  drops  long  and  heavy 
hung  from  her  ears.  One  afternoon,  after  play 
ing  with  her  young  charges,  Gelsomina  went  for 
water  to  that  picturesque  marble  well  in  the 
court.  While  bending  over  the  curbstone  and 
drawing  up  the  bucket,  like  Zara-of-Moriah 
fame,  she  dropped  one  of  her  long,  heavy  ear 
rings  into  the  water.  Great  was  the  lamenta- 

[  227  1 


tion  of  the  simple  creature!  Warm  was  the 
sympathy  of  the  household."  But  the  old  well 
was  far  too  deep  to  give  up  this  heirloom  and 
family  treasure,  which  was  gone  beyond  Gel- 
somina's  tears  to  recover.  Gelsomina  would 
have  followed  her  American  friends  north,  but 
a  portly,  stately,  dignified  aunt  "  would  not 
trust  her  so  far  from  the  orange-groves  of 
Sorrento."  When  the  hour  of  parting  came, 
pretty  Gelsomina  received  from  her  mistress  a 
fine  pair  of  new  ear-rings,  and  tears  of  grati 
tude  fell  upon  the  trinkets  as  she  kissed  the 
hand  of  the  giver.  Her  name  and  something 
of  her  sweet  innocence  and  fidelity  were  given 
to  the  jailer's  daughter  of  "  The  Bravo." 

"  The  well  is  deep  —  far  down  they  lie, 

beneath  the  cold,  blue  water ! 
My  ear-rings  !     my  ear-rings  !  " 

This  book,  one  of  Cooper's  favorite  works, 
was  an  artist's  picture  of  Venice,  and  was  written 
to  martial  music  in  Paris,  in  1830,  where  Cooper 
arrived  on  the  eve  of  a  revolution,  for  a  stay  of 
three  years.  It  was  published  by  Lea  and  Carey, 
Philadelphia,  in  1834,  and  did  not  find  favor  in 
America,  but  was  much  liked  in  Germany  and 

[  228  ] 


THE  BRAVO. 

France.  Prof.  Brander  Matthews  writes :  - 
"  The  scene  in  which  Antonio,  the  old  fisherman, 
is  shrived  by  the  Carmelite  monk,  in  his  boat, 
under  the  midnight  moon  upon  the  lagoon,  is  one 
of  the  finest  in  the  whole  range  of  literature  in 
fiction." 

Concerning  the  carrying  off  of  the  art  trea 
sures  of  Venice  by  the  French,  Cooper  wrote: 
"  One  great  picture  escaped  them ;  it  stood  in 
a  dark  chapel  completely  covered  with  dust  and 
smoke.  Within  a  few  years  some  artist  had  the 
curiosity  to  examine  this  then  unknown  altar- 
piece.  The  picture  was  taken  down,  and  being 
thoroughly  cleaned,  proved  to  be  '  The  Assump 
tion  '  "  -  Titian's  masterpiece,  some  think.  It  is 
now  in  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  in  Venice. 

[  229  ] 


GLORY  OF  THE  ASSUMPTION. 
ABSOLUTION  OF  ANTONIO. 


Cooper  tells  of  a  monument  Canova  had  "  de 
signed  for  Titian,  beautifully  chiseled  out  of 
spotless  marble/'  The  author  found  it  "  beneath 
the  gloomy  arches  of  the  church,"  and  thought 
it  "singularly  dramatic  and  startling";  but  it 
had  been  erected  to  the  honor  of  Canova  him 
self  instead  of  to  the  painter! 

From  Venice  Cooper  and  family  went  by  way 
of  Tyrol  to  Munich,  where  he  much  admired  the 
king  of  Bavaria's  art  collections.  After  this 
brief  visit  they  moved  on  to  Dresden,  passing 
here  some  pleasant  months  in  a  cheerful  apart 
ment  overlooking  the  Alt  Market.  The  quaint 
and  busy  show  of  homely  German  life,  the 
town,  gardens,  river,  bridge,  and  fine  gallery 


ALT  MARKET,  DRESDEN. 

[  231  ] 


"  worthy  of  Italy,"  were  enjoyed.  The  Water 
Witch,  "  wrecked  on  the  Tiber,  was  now  safely 
launched  on  the  broader  waters  of  the  Elbe." 
It  was  issued  by  Lea  and  Carey,  Philadelphia, 
in  1830. 

Comparing  national  traits  became  at  times  an 
unfortunate  habit  with  Cooper.  He  was  pro 
voked  by  a  Dresden  schoolmaster's  surprise  that 
his  children  were  not  black;  and,  again,  because 
he  could  not  convince  an  English  scholar  that  in 
Boston  "  to  gouge  "  did  not  mean  the  cruel  prac 
tice  "  to  squeeze  out  a  man's  eyes  with  the  thumb." 
This  English  scholar  was  Sir  James  Mackintosh. 

On  the  return  to  Paris  from  Germany  several 
places  were  tried  before  finding  a  short  distance 
across  the  Seine,  No.  59  rue  St.  Dominique,  - 
an  off-and-on  home  for  three  years.  Here  the 
salon  was  thirty  feet  long  and  lofty  —  to  a 
sailor's  delight,  seventeen  feet;  above  the  doors 
were  paintings  in  gilded  frames ;  and  there  were 
four  large  mirrors,  and  vast  windows  reach 
ing  to  the  floor.  The  dining-room,  even 
larger,  opened  on  the  garden.  After  this 
manner  the  doctor  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  built 
his  home  for  himself  —  and  this  American 
tenant. 

[  232  ] 


The  turmoil  in  this  city  of  light  at  once  at 
tracted  him  in  the  near  view  of  the  Revolution 
of  July.  Having  known  General  Lafayette  since 
1824,  these  two  fine  men  were  brought  in  close 
touch  on  Cooper's  second  visit  to  Paris.  In  1831 
the  Marquis  Lafayette  was  the  center  of  Amer 
ican  life  here,  and  consequently  he  and  our 
author  were  constantly 
and  intimately  thrown 
together. 

Lafayette's  neat,  simple 
apartment  in  a  hotel  of 
some  pretension  was  in 
the  rue  d'Anjou.  There 
were  a  large  antechamber, 
two  salons,  and  an  inner 
room,  where  he  wrote,  and 
finally  had  his  bed.  His 
town  servants  were  his 
German  valet,  Bastien, 
who  served  during  the  last 
visit  to  America,  a  foot 
man,  and  a  coachman. 
Cooper  wrote :  ''  When  I 
show  myself  at  the  door 
Bastien  makes  a  signal  of 

[  233  ] 


LAFAYETTE'S  RUE  D'ANJOU 
HOME,  PARIS. 


assent,  intimates  that  the  general  is  at  dinner ; 
but  I  am  at  once  ushered  into  the  bed-room. 
Here  I  find  Lafayette  at  table  —  so  small  as  to 


GENERAL  LAFAYETTE'S  BED-ROOM. 

be  covered  with  a  napkin,  his  little  white  dog  his 
only  companion."  It  was  understood  that  the 
guest  had  dined,  so  he  takes  a  seat  in  the  chimney- 
corner,  and  as  they  talk  the  dinner  goes  on  to  its 
finish  of  dates,  which  are  shared  by  the  visitor. 
The  last  of  these  pleasant  visits  grew  from  the 
usual  half  hour  to  almost  two,  as  they  chatted  of 
the  great  and  small  and  all  in  their  fine  way.  La 
fayette  thought  Louis  Philippe  "  the  falsest 
man  "  he  ever  met.  Of  Charles  X  he  "  spoke 
kindly,"  giving  him  "  an  exactly  opposite  char 
acter,"  and  Marie  Antoinette  he  believed  "  an 
injured  woman." 

[  234  1 


-GLfrU>(4 


When  Mr.  McLane,  our  minister  to  Eng 
land,  made  a  flight  to  Paris  in  1830,  Lafayette 
strongly  urged  Cooper  to  give  him  the  pleasure 

[  235  ] 


QUEEN  MARIE  AMELIE. 

of  presenting  him  with  Mr.  McLane  to  Louis 
Philippe  at  a  Palais  Royal  "  evening/'  Con 
cerning  the  event  Cooper  noted :  "  Though  such 
a  visit  was  contrary  to  my  quiet  habits,  I  could 
do  nothing  but  comply."  His  book  on  France 
relates  the  event  and  concludes  with :  "  We  all 
got  invitations  to  dine  at  the  palace  in  a  day  or 
two."  But  Cooper  "  never  had  any  faith  in  the 
republican  king,"  and  thought  "  General  Lafay 
ette  had  been  the  dupe  of  his  own  good  faith 
and  kind  feelings."  Queen  Marie  Amelia,  who 
was  the  daughter  of  Ferdinand  I  of  the  two  Sici 
lies,  asked  Cooper  which  he  most  preferred  of  all 
the  lands  he  had  visited.  His  quick  and  strictly 
truthful  reply  was :  "  That  in  which  your  majesty 
was  born  for  its  nature,  and  that  in  which  your 
majesty  reigns  for  its  society."  As  the  "  even- 

[  236  ]  ' 


ing  "  was  for  men  Cooper  noticed  that  "  the  queen 
and  her  ladies  wore  bonnets." 

December  8,  1830  the  Americans  in  Paris  gave 
General  Lafayette  a  dinner  over  which  Cooper 
presided.  And,  says  Professor  Lounsbury, 
"  in  a  speech  of  marked  fervor  and  ability,  he  had 
dwelt  upon  the  debt  due  from  the  United  States 
to  the  gallant  Frenchman,  who  had  ventured 
fortune  and  life  to  aid  a  nation  struggling  against 
great  odds  to  be  free."  As  "  It  was  not  in  his 
[Cooper's]  nature  to  have  his  deeds  give  lie  to  his 
words,"  he  was  fairly  caught  in  a  public  contro 
versy  that  brought  upon  him  the  following  un 
pleasant  results. 

During  this  period  a  public  dispute  arose  on 
the  comparative  expenses  of  American  and 
French  government,  which  Lafayette  was  called 
upon  to  settle,  and  he  appealed  to  Cooper  as  an 
American  authority.  In  his  spirited  defense  of 
the  gallant  Marquis,  our  author  was  caught  in 
a  maelstrom  of  harsh  criticism.  It  ended  in  his 
victory  abroad,  but  brought  upon  him  uncalled- 
for  comment  from  the  American  press  for  "  at 
tacking  the  authorities  of  a  friendly  country  " 
as  that  press  unjustly  termed  it. 

At  Paris  in  1831,  by  the  request  of  an  English 
[  237  1 


friend,  Cooper  wrote  of  "  The  Great  Eclipse  " 
which  he  saw  June  16,  1806,  at  his  Cooperstown 
home.  This  account  was  found  after  his  death 
and  appeared  in  Putnam's  Magazine  of  1869.  It 
included  a  thrilling  tragedy  and  closed  as  follows: 
k  I  have  passed  a  varied  and  eventful  life  —  hut 
never  have  I  beheld  any  spectacle  which  so  plainly 
manifested  the  majesty  of  the  Creator,  or  so 
forcibly  taught  the  lesson  of  humility  to  man  as 
the  total  eclipse  of  the  sun." 

From  Paris,  in  1832,  Cooper  wrote:  "I  care 
nothing  for  criticism,  but  I  am  not  indifferent 
to  slander.  If  these  attacks  on  my  character 
should  be  kept  up  five  years  after  my  return  to 
America,  I  shall  resort  to  the  New  York  courts 
for  protection."  Cooper  gave  the  press  the  full 
period,  then,  said  Bryant,  —  himself  an  editor, 
"  he  put  a  hook  in  the  nose  of  this  huge  mon 
ster  of  the  inky  pool,  dragged  him  to  land,  and 
made  him  tractable."  After  these  five  years  had 
passed  Cooper  noted,  February,  1843:  "I  have 
beaten  every  man  I  have  sued  who  has  not  re 
tracted  his  libels." 

In  Paris3  in  1832,  our  author  was  meeting 
many  foreigners  of  note,  and  among  the  Ameri 
cans  was  N.  P.  Willis,  then  sketching  his  "  Pen- 

[  238  ] 


cillings  by  the  Way,"  and  breakfasting  with 
Cooper,  and  strolling  with  him  through  the 
Tuileries  gardens.  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  who 


S.  F.  B.  MORSE. 


N.  P.  WILLIS. 


was  later  to  chain  electricity  for  future  use,  was 
then  a  young  artist  painting  in  the  Louvre,  and 
helping  Cooper  to  buy  pictures.  Of  one  pur- 


i 


TUILERIES  GARDENS. 


[   239   ] 


chase  is  noted:  "  Shortly  after  the  revolution  of 
1830,  passing  through  the  Carousel,  he  bought 
a  portrait,  covered  with  dust  but  of  apparent  rare 
beauty,  from  a  dealer  in  antiques,  who  said  it  was 
a  Teniers.  This  painting  was  shown  to  Morse 


TENTER'S  WIFE. 

Portrait  by  Tenier. 


and  to  Archbishop  Luscomb  of  Paris,  also  an  art 
critic  of  his  day,  both  of  whom  verified  the 
dealer's  statement.  Catalogues  and  prints  of 
originals  of  Tenier's  wife  later  proved  the  picture 
to  be  her  portrait  painted  round  in  form  by  that 
artist  and  afterwards  cut  to  the  square. 

Some  twenty  years  later  Morse  wrote :  "  We 
were  in  daily,  almost  hourly,  intercourse  during 
the  years  1832-33.  I  never  met  a  more  sincere, 

[  240  ] 


MRS.  JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER  AND  HER  SON  PAUL.     From 
a  photograph  of  a  painting  done  at  Paris,  1831. 


.*• 


warm-hearted,  constant  friend."  Their  relations 
were  ever  warm  and  close.  Cooper  himself  was 
winning,  in  the  heart  of  France,  a  welcome  for 
"  the  beloved  Bas-de-cuir  with  la  longe  carabine, 
—  that  magic  rifle  of  his  that  so  seldom  missed 
its  mark  and  never  got  out  of  repair."  Surely 
his  life  and  pursuits  conformed  to  his  motto: 
"  Loyalty  to  truth  at  any  price."  Those  who 
best  knew  him  best  loved  him.  The  charm  of 
his  family  life  during  these  pleasant  days  has 
found  attractive  expression  in  the  portraits  of 
his  children  drawn  about  this  time  by  his 
daughter  Susan,  as  shown  on  the  opposite 
page. 

During  the  dreadful  siege  of  cholera  in  Paris, 
Cooper  and  his  family  remained  in  the  stricken 
city,  fearing  to  fare  worse  with  country  discom 
forts.  In  contrast  to  many  instances  of  heroic 
devotion  were  artists'  funny  pictures  of  the 
scourge.  The  Tuileries  gardens  were  deserted, 
and  Paul  missed  his  apple-women  friends  of  the 
corners  between  rue  St.  Dominique  and  Pont 
Royal;  and  the  flight  through  the  city  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren  and  other  friends  were  a  few  personal 
incidents  of  this  awesome  time. 

July  1 8  Cooper  and  his  family  left  Paris  for  the 
[  243  ] 


Rhine  country.  They  enjoyed  Brussels,  and  old 
Antwerp's  Dutch  art  and  its  beautiful  cathedral- 
tower  that  Napoleon  thought  should  be  kept  under 
glass.  They  found  Liege  "  alive  with  people  "  to 
greet  their  arrival  at  the  Golden  Sun,  where  they 
were  mistaken  for  the  expected  and  almost  new 
king,  Leopold,  and  his  fine-looking  brother.  Sad 
truth  brought  cold  looks  and  back  views  among 
other  shadows  of  neglect.  Cooper  noted:  The 
"  Golden  Sun  veiled  its  face  from  us ;  we  quit  the 
great  square  to  seek  more  humble  lodgings  at  the 
Black  Eagle,  a  clean,  good  house."  In  Liege  were 
seen  the  venerable,  interesting  churches,  which 
caused  Cooper  to  think,  "  I  sometimes  wish  I  had 


THE  ANGELUS. 
I    244   I 


been  educated  a  Catholic  in  order  to  unite  the 
poetry  of  religion  with  its  higher  principles."  He 
called  The  Angelus  "the  open  prayer  of  the  fields," 
and  wrote  of  it:  "I  remember  with  pleasure  the 
effect  produced  by  the  bell  of  the  village  church  as 
it  sent  its  warning  voice  on  such  occasions  across 
the  plains  and  over  the  hills,  while  we  were 
dwellers  in  French  or  Italian  hamlets." 

In  the  "  Life  of  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse  "  by  Sam 
uel  Irerueus  Prime  appears  Cooper's  letter  from 
kk  Spa,  July  31,  1832,"  to 

MY  DEAR  MORSE  :  I  have  had  a  great  compliment 
paid  me,  Master  Samuel, --You  must  know  there  is 
a  great  painter  in  Bruxelles  of  the  name  of  Verboeck- 
hoven,  (which  means  a  bull  and  a  book  baked  in  an 
oven!)  who  is  another  Paul  Potter.  He  out  does  all 
other  men  in  drawing  cattle,  —  Well,  sir,  this  artist 
did  me  the  favor  to  call  at  Bruxelles  with  the  request 
that  I  would  let  him  sketch  my  face.  He  came  after 
the  horses  were  ordered,  and  knowing  the  difficulty 
of  the  task,  I  thanked  him,  but  was  compelled  to 
refuse.  On  our  arrival  at  Liege,  we  were  told  that  a 
messenger  from  the  governor  had  been  to  inquire  for 
us,  and  I  began  to  bethink  me  of  my  sins,  — however, 
-  it  proved  Mr.  Bull-and-book-baked  had  come  [by 
dilligence]  to  Liege  (sixty-three  miles)  and  got  the 
governor  to  give  him  notice,  by  means  of  my  passport, 
when  we  came.  Of  course  I  sat,  —  the  likeness  - 
like  all  other  pictures  you  have  seen  of  my  chameleon 

[  245  ] 


EUGENE-JOSEPH  VERBOECKHOVEN. 

face  —  has  a  vastly  live-like  look,  —  the  compliment 
is  none  the  less,  and,  provided  the  artist  does  not  mean 
to  serve  me  up  as  a  specimen  of  American  wild  beasts, 
I  shall  thank  him  for  it.  To  be  followed  twelve  posts 
by  a  first-rate  artist,  who  is  in  favor  with  the  King, 
is  so  unusual,  that  I  probed  him  a  little.  I  found  him 
well  skilled  in  his  art,  —  his  gusto  for  natural  subjects, 
strong,  —  and  his  favorite  among  all  my  books  is 
'  The  Prairie,"  which  you  know  is  filled  with  wild 
beasts.  Here  the  secret  is  out.  —  He  sent  me  a  beau 
tiful  pencil  sketch  of  a  Belgian  hind  as  a  memorial  of 
our  achievement." 


246] 


Cooper  and  his  family  spent  some  days  drinking 
the  waters  at  Spa,  with  best  effects  for  Mrs. 
Cooper  —  not  over-strong  since  the  Paris  days. 
They  left  its  grass  of  "  ghostly  green  "  when  the 
"  dog-star  raged  with  all  its  fury/'  and  "  came  on 
old  Aix-la-Chapelle,  well-cloaked  and  carriage 
windows  closed."  In  compliment  to  the  republic 
of  letters  the  postman  called  on  Cooper  here,  and 
like  tribute  was  also  paid  two  posts  farther  on, 
where  he  was  asked  if  he  "  was  the  man  who  wrote 
books !  "  That  day  was  well  spent  when  they 
reached  the  terrace  above  the  Rhine  and  got  their 
first  view  of  the  towers  of  Cologne.  In  "  fine, 
lofty  rooms  "  overlooking  a  garden,  they  here  en 
joyed  a  night's  rest,  a  breakfast,  and  then  a  pil 
grimage  to  "  the  unfinished  cathedral,  that 
wonder  of  Gothic  architecture."  A  visit  was  paid 
to  the  house  in  which  Rubens  was  born,  it  is  said, 
and  the  very  room  which  sheltered  the  last  mo 
ments  of  Mary  of  Medicis,  wife  of  Henry  IV  and 
mother  of  Louis  XIII  of  France.  Cooper  thought 
it  "  a  better  sort  of  burgher  home,"  and  saw  it  as 
"  a  public  house." 

Again  on  the  wing,  they  passed  the  student- 
town  of  Bonn,  Rhine  ruins  of  charming  legend 
on  the  near  and  far  banks  of  the  river,  until  on 

[  247  1 


an  island  in  the  Rhine  they  found  rest  and  re 
freshment  at  a  convent-inn.  The  host,  wife, 
child,  cook,  and  soldiers  three,  quartered  there, 
gave  them  welcome  and  good  cheer.  Their  par- 


w 

-*» 

PETER  PAUL  RUBENS  AND  His  COLOGNE  HOME. 

lor  was  that  of  the  lady  abbess,  and  her  bed 
chamber  fell  to  Mrs.  Cooper.  "  The  girls  were 
put  into  cells,  where  girls  ought  never  to  be  put," 
wrote  their  father.  He  "  sallied  forth  alone,  in 
quest  of  sensation,"  and  got  it  in  the  muttering 
of  thunder,  and  the  flashing  of  lightning  over  the 
"  pitchy  darkness  of  the  seven  mountains."  And 
he  and  the  fiercely  howling  winds  from  the  trees 
had  a  chase  through  the  gloomy  cloisters,  whence 
he  saw,  in  the  vast,  cavern-like  kitchen,  the  honest 
islanders  eating  with  relish  his  surplus  supper. 

[  248  ] 


As  the  storm  grew  in  strength  Cooper  went  to 
the  corridor  above,  leading  past  their  rooms.  To- 
and-fro  he  paced  until  a  bright  flash  revealed 
the  far,  end  door  to  which  he  went,  opened,  and 


CONVENT  OF  NUNNENWORTH. 

entered  into  utter  darkness.  Taking  a  few  steps 
he  paused  -  :'  for  the  whole  seemed  filled  by  a 
clatter,  as  of  ten  thousand  bat-wings  against 
glass/'  His  hand  rested  on  something  —  he 
knew  not  what --when  by  another  vivid  flash 
he  saw  that  he  was  in  an  open  gallery  of  the  con 
vent  chapel.  The  bat-wings  were  small,  broken 
panes  of  the  high  arched  windows,  rattling  in 
the  gale.  Yet  by  the  chasing  flashes  of  angry 
light  he  saw  beneath  him  grim  figures  in  the 
shadowy  motions  of  troubled  spirits.  They  wore 

t  249  1 


upon  his  nerves,  until  he  caught  himself  shout 
ing:  "'Ship  ahoy;  ship  ahoy!  What  cheer, 
what  cheer?'  in  a  voice  as  loud  as  the  winds/' 
He  was  about  to  speak  when  his  gallery  door 
opened  and  the  withered  face  of  an  old  crone 
appeared  by  a  flash;  then  came  thunder,  and  the 
face  vanished.  After  a  pause  the  d»nr  opened 
a- a  in,  and  on  the  same  uncomely  face,  when, 
without  thought,  our  author  gave  a  loud,  deep 
groan.  The  door  slammed  on  the  time-stricken 
form,  and  he  was  again  alone  with  the  storm- 
demons  who  now  soon  grew  drowsy  and  went  to 
sleep,  and  he  himself  went  to  bed,  —  and,  wrote 
he,  "slept  like  a  postillion  in  a  cock-loft,  or  a 
midshipman  in  the  middle-watch."  I'.nt  regret 
came  in  the  morning  when  Mrs.  Cooper  told  her 
Im-band  how  a  poor  old  snul.  frightened  by  the 
storm,  had  stolen  into  the  chapel  to  pray,  where, 
on  hearing  strange  groans,  she  dropped  her 
candle  and  fled  in  fear  to  Madam's  maid,  who 
gave  her  bed-shelter  for  the  night.  An  after- 
breakfast  look  at  the  storm-ridden  chapel  dis 
closed  other  good  reasons  than  the  groans  for 
the  poor  creature's  flight.  A  peace  offering  made 
sweet  her  next  night's  sleep,  when  the  travelers 
had  gone  on  their  way,  diving  here  and  there 

[  250  ] 


WATCH  TOWER  ON  TIIK  RHINE. 

into  lore  and  legend  of  the  mighty  Rhine-stream. 
Near  the  Prussian  frontier  was  "  a  castle  that 
stood  beetling  on  a  crag  above  the  road,"  where 
smoke  actually  arose  from  a  beacon-grate  that 
thrust  itself  out  "  from  a  far-front  tower."  Such 

I   251  ] 


attractions  were  not  to  be  passed,  and  up  the 
winding  way  over  two  hundred  feet  they  went, 
and  over  the  small  drawbridge,  guarded  by  one 
groom  and  the  Dutch  growl  of  a  ferocious  mas 
tiff.  In  walls,  towers,  queer  gap  terraces,  —  giv 
ing  lovely  glimpses  of  the  Rhine,  —  court,  out 
side  stairways  of  iron,  fine  old  Knights'  Hall 
-  its  huge  fire-place,  and  its  center  droplights  of 
lamps  fitted  into  buckhorns  —  and  curious 
armor,  Cooper  found  additional  material  for  his 
prolific  pen. 

During  the  year  1832  Cooper  gave  '  The 
Heidenmauer,  a  Rhine  Legend,"  to  the  world. 
While  the  book  itself  is  full  of  mediaeval,  Rhine- 
country  charm,  of  brilliant  charge  and  counter 
charge,  of  church  and  state  power,  unfortu 
nately  for  its  author  in  its  "  Introduction  "  was 
this  sentence:  "  Each  hour,  as  life  advances,  am 
I  made  to  see  how  capricious  and  vulgar  is  the 
immortality  conferred  by  a  newspaper/'  This 
brought  upon  its  writer  a  whirlwind  of  caustic 
criticism  in  the  American  papers,  and  soon 
became  a  challenge  of  battle  by  one  who  was  to 
prove  himself  brave,  able,  fearless,  and  right 
through  coming  years  of  hot  and  bitter  strife. 
By  one  of  the  leading  editors  the  glove  was 

[  252  ] 


taken  up  in  these  words :  "  The  press  has  built 
him  up;  the  press  shall  pull  him  down."  Pos 
terity  has  forgotten  the  stirring*  conflict,  but 
Cooper's  books  will  never  fail  to  fire  the 
heart  and  brain  of  every  mother's  son  for  all 
time. 

In  a  skiff,  spreading  a  sprit  sail,  they  crossed 
the  Rhine  at  Bingen  by  that  postmaster's  assur 
ance  of  "  Certainly,  as  good  a  ferry  as  there  is 
in  Germany.  —  Ja  —  Ja  —  we  do  it  often." 
Through  the  Duchy  of  Nassau  they  tested  its 
wines  from  Johannesberg  to  Wiesbaden.  Then 
ii])  the  Main  to  Frankfort,  on  to  Darmstadt,  and 
thence  to  Heidelberg.  It  was  quite  dark  when 
they  "  crossed  the  bridge  of  the  Neckar,"  but 
"  Notwithstanding  the  obscurity  "  wrote  Cooper, 
"  we  got  a  glimpse  of  the  proud  old  ruin  overhang 
ing  the  place,  looking  grand  and  sombre  in  the 
gloom  of  night."  He  thought  the  ruins  by 
daylight  "  vast,  rather  than  fine  "  though  parts 
had  kk  the  charm  of  quaintness."  The  "  picturesque 
tower  "  was  noted,  adding  "  but  the  finest  thing 
certainly  is  the  view  from  the  garden-terrace 
above."  Below  it,  unrolls  miles  of  the  beautiful 
Neckar  valley  country,  through  which  they  drove 
to  Ludwigsburg  and  on  to  Stuttgart.  Beyond, 

[  253  ] 


appeared  a  distant  view  of  "  a  noble  ruin  "  crown 
ing  a  conical  eminence.  This  was  the  Castle  of 
Hohenzollern,  "  the  cradle  of  the  House  of  Bran 
denburg  "  to  which  a  thunderstorm  prevented 


HEIDELBERG  AND  CASTLE. 

their  intended  visit.  Returning  to  a  vale  of  Wur- 
temberg  they  saw  "  a  little  rivulet  "  which  began 
the  mighty  Danube  stream  on  its  way  to  the  Black 
Sea,  and  drove  up  to  the  inn  at  Tuttlingen,  of 
which  point  Cooper  wrote :  '  This  is  the  Black 
Forest,  -  -  The  wood  was  chiefly  of  larches, 
whence  I  presume  its  name."  Warned  by  their 
host-postmaster  of  a  long  climb  of  mountain 

[  254  1 


separating  the  Rhine  and  Danube  rivers,  in  a 
coach  and  six  they  left  him  for  Schafrhausen  and 
the  Rhine  Falls.  The  mountain  crest  gave  them  a 
sweeping  view  of  Lake  Constance  when  its  waters 
looked  "  dark  and  wild  "  wrote  Cooper,  adding, 
kk  we  suddenly  plunged  down  to  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine  and  found  ourselves  once  more  before  an 
inn-door,  in  Switzerland."  So  in  the  late  summer 
of  this  year  their  second  visit  was  made 
to  the  land  of  Lake  Leman,  whose  waters 
are  overshadowed  by  noble  mountains;  and  its 
surface  broad,  tranquil,  and  blue.  Enchanting 


VEVAY  SHORES  OF  LAKE  LEMAN. 

distance  made  a  fairy  air-castle  of  a  tiny  chateau 
on  a  little  grassy  knoll  washed  by  the  lake,  but  a 
near  view  decided  the  family  "  to  take  refuge 
in  a  furnished  house,  Mon  Repose"  in  a  retired 

[  255  ] 


corner  quite  near  the  shore  at  Vevay.  A  boat, 
with  honest  John  Descloux  and  his  two  crooked 
oars,  was  soon  secured,  and  many  an  hour  was 
spent  listening  to  his  lore  of  Leman,  as  they 


FETE  DES  VIGNERONS,  1833. 

floated  their  several  hours  a  day  over  its  waters, 
under  fair  skies  and  foul.  During  this  Switzer 
land  vacation  Cooper's  fancy  was  strongly  at 
tracted  by  Vevay's  celebration  of  an  old-time 
festival,  abbayc  dcs  Vigncrons,  or  great  holiday 
of  the  vine-dressers.  It  was  "  a  gay  and  motley 
scene,  blending  the  harvest-home  with  a  dash  of 
the  carnival  spirit."  Shepherds  and  shepherd 
esses  in  holiday  attire  and  garlands,  tripping  the 
measures  of  rustic  song  and  dance.  Aproned 
gardeners  with  rake  and  spade,  their  sweethearts 

[  256  ] 


NOAH'S  ARK,  VEVAY,  1833. 

with  bread-baskets  of  fruit  and  flowers,  uniting 
in  the  dance  a  la  rondc,  as  they  came  to  a  certain 
point  in  the  procession ;  and  so  went  the  reapers, 
mowers,  gleaners,  herdsmen,  and  dairy-maids  in 
Alpine  costume,  timing  their  steps  to  horn  and 
cow-bell,  and  singing  the  heart-stirring  chorus 
Rang  des  Vachs,  or  the  "  Cowherds  of  the  Alps," 
the  wild  notes  coming  back  in  many  an  Alpine 
echo.  The  festival  concluded  with  a  rustic  wed 
ding,  the  bride  being  dowered  down  to  the  broom 
and  spindle  by  the  lady  of  the  manor.  Such  a 
holiday  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Leman,  and  the 
Pass  of  St.  Bernard,  Cooper  placed  as  a  back 
ground  for  his  plot  based  on  the  hard  old  feudal- 
times  law  —  that  (in  the  canton  of  Berne)  the 
odious  office  of  executioner  or  headsman  was 
made  a  family  inheritance.  The  efforts  of  the 
unhappy  father  and  mother  to  save  their  son  from 
such  a  fate  make  up  the  pathetic  interest  of  "  The 
Headsman,"  issued  in  1833.  The  Hospice  of  St. 

[  257*] 


Bernard  so  well  described  in  this  book  was  visited 
by  the  author  the  previous  year. 

When  the  power  to  write  first  dawned  on 
Cooper's  mind  there  came  also  and  grew  with  it 
the  desire  to  serve  his  native  land  in  the  field  of 
letters.  Love  of  country  and  countrymen  guided 
his  ardent,  generous  pen  in  "  The  Spy,"  "  The 
Pioneers,"  "  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans,"  and 
"  The  Prairie,"  written  before  he  went  to  Europe. 
European  society  he  entered,  and  was  courted  as 
literary  men  of  reputation  are  courted  there,  but 
always  with  the  honest  pride  of  being  an  Ameri 
can.  Under  these  pleasant  conditions  "  The  Red 

Rover,"   u  The  Travel 
ing    Bachelor,"     "  The 


THE  HOSPICE  OF  ST.  BERNARD. 

[  258  ] 


Wept  of  Wish-ton-Wish,"  and  '  The  Water 
Witch  "•  were  written.  But  "  The  Bravo  "  was 
followed  by  such  "  a  series  of  abuse  in  the  public 
press  "  at  home  that  when  Cooper  returned,  No 
vember  5,  1833,  these  onsets  greatly  surprised 
him.  His  nature  was  roused  by  attack;  but 
"  never  was  he  known  to  quail,"  wrote  a  famous 
English  critic  of  him,  and  added :  "  Cooper  writes 
like  a  hero !  "  He  believed  the  public  press  to  be  a 
power  for  life  or  death  to  a  nation,  and  held  per 
sonal  rights  as  sacred;  and  challenged  on  these 
lines  he  became  a  lion  at  bay.  Excepting  from 
his  fine  old  personal  friends,  staunch  and  true, 
he  had  a  chilling  reception.  For  saying,  at  an 
evening  party  a  few  days  after  landing,  that  he 
had  been  sadly  jolted  by  the  bad  pavement  and 
was  surprised  that  the  town  was  so  poorly  lighted, 
he  was  seriously  warned  by  these  warm  friends : 
"  By  the  shade  of  Washington !  and  the  memory 
of  Jay!  to  be  more  prudent;  not  a  syllable  of 
pavements  or  a  word  of  lamps  could  be  uttered." 
Because  he  thought  the  bay  of  Naples  of  more 
classic  interest  than  the  bay  of  New  York,  he  was 
voted  "  devoid  of  taste  and  patriotism."  So  hurt 
was  he  by  public  distrust  that  he  thought  seri 
ously  of  writing  no  more;  its  injustice  led  him 

[  259  J 


THE  BAY  OF  NAPLES. 

to  criticise  harshly  many  changes  which  had 
occurred  during  his  absence.  The  Indian  trail 
had  made  way  for  canal-boats,  connecting  the 
ocean  with  the  inland  seas;  the  railroads  had 
come,  with  other  active  commercial  interests,  to 
stay. 

After  their  return  from  Europe  Cooper  and  his 
family  passed  some  winters  in  New  York  City  - 
those  of  1833-34  and  1835-36  in  Bleecker  Street 
near  Thompson.  There  he  "  first  erected  his 
household  gods,  French  gods  these,  for  the  house 
throughout  was  equipped  with  furniture  from 
France,  and  ministered  solely  by  French  ser 
vitors,"  writes  Doctor  Wolfe.  But  love  for 

[  260  ] 


NEW  YORK  HARBOR  EARLY  IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

the  old  Hall  on  the  shores  of  Otsego  grew 
strong  beyond  resistance.  It  was  vacant  and  of 
forlorn  appearance  when  the  author  returned  to  it 
in  1834.  From  a  simple,  roomy,  comfortable 
house  it  was  made  over  into  a  picturesque 
country-seat,  from  designs,  English  in  style, 


OTSEGO  HALL  AFTER  THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  1834. 

[  261  ] 


drawn  by  Professor  Morse,  who  was  at  Coopers- 
town  during  alterations.  Some  of  these,  without 
thought  of  the  cold  Otsego  winters  —  ice  and 
snow  on  the  battlemented  roof --made  leaks  fre 
quent  and  disturbing.  In  1835  Cooper  wrote  of 
this  home :  '  The  Hall  is  composite  enough, 
Heaven  knows,  being  a  mongrel  of  the  Grecian 
and  Gothic  orders;  my  hall,  however,  is  the  ad 
miration  of  all  the  mountaineers  —  nearly  fifty 
feet  long,  twenty-four  wide,  and  fifteen  feet  high. 
I  have  raised  the  ceiling  three  feet,  and  regret 
it  had  not  been  ten.  I  have  aversion  to  a  room 
under  jurymasts."  The  library  was  a  well-shaped 
room  of  twenty  by  twenty-four  feet,  the  ceiling 
twelve  feet  above.  Its  deep,  dark  oak  windows 
opened  on  the  thick  shade-trees  of  the  quiet  south 
west;  the  walls,  well-lined  with  books  of  value, 
could  show  no  complete  set  of  his  own.  In  one 
corner  of  this  room  was  a  large  folding  screen 
on  which  were  pasted  print-pictures  of  places 
they  had  visited  during  their  seven  years'  tour  of 
Europe;  a  like  screen  was  in  the  hall.  In  this 
library  was  the  author's  plain,  shining,  English 
walnut  writing-table  and  chair,  whose  first  owner 
was  Richard  Fenimore,  Cooper's  maternal  grand 
father,  of  Rancocus,  New  Jersey;  many  of 

[  262  ] 


COPY  or  COOPER'S  GARDEN  SEAT 


COOPER'S  LIBRARY  AT  OTSEGO  HALL. 


Cooper's  works  were  written  upon  it.  On  the 
opposite  side  of  the  hall  was  the  author's  bed 
chamber.  It  is  interesting  to  learn  from  Mr. 
Keese  that  the  large  north  bed-rooms,  so  cold 
in  winter,  were  known  as  "  Siberia "  and 
"  Greenland,"  while  those  on  the  south,  and 
warm  in  summer,  were  called  "  Florida  "  and 
"  Italy."  We  are  told  the  grounds  were  changed 
by  winding  walks  and  the  setting  out  of  trees 
—  not  a  few  with  Cooper's  own  hands.  And 
under  these  fine  trees,  in  their  southwest 
favored  corner,  shadows  and  sunlight  play  hide 
and  seek  about  a  copy  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cooper's 
favorite  garden  seat.  Great  gates  were  made 
for  the  garden  entrance,  as  heavy  and  hard  to 
move  as  those  of  "The  Hutted  Knoll"  in  the, 
author's  story  of  "  Wyandotte."  It  was  indeed 
an  attractive  home,  made  more  so  by  its  attrac 
tive  inmates.  Concerning  these  Mr.  Keese 
writes :  "  Noting  Cooper's  fondness  for  animals, 
the  family  brought  from  Paris  a  magnificent 
'  tiger  '  cat  weighing  fifteen  pounds  -  '  Coqueli- 
cot '  by  name.  He  lived  at  the  Hall  until  the  day 
of  his  death,  and  occupied  the  most  comfortable 
chair  in  the  parlor  and  was  rarely  disturbed." 
Finally  the  old  Hall  became  their  only  home, 

[  264  ] 


and  here,  in  his  stronghold  at  the  foot  of  the 
Glimmerglass,  Cooper  kept  open  house  for  his 
friends. 

During  the  summer  months  he  took  a  lively 
interest  in  his  garden.  From  his  daughter  we 
learn :  "  It  was  his  delight  to  watch  the  growth 
of  different  plants  day  by  day.  His  hot-beds 
were  of  the  earliest,  and  he  was  the  first  to  grow 
eg§"'plant>  Brussels  sprouts,  and  other  unusual 
vegetables  and  fruits."  The  first  and  choicest  of 
fruit  or  vegetable  was  gathered  by  himself  as  a 
little  offering  to  Mrs.  Cooper,  and  placed  by  him 
at  her  plate  at  table.  And  he  took  great  pleasure 
in  carrying  with  his  own  hands  baskets  of  choice 
fruit  and  vegetables  to  different  friends  and 
neighbors.  Many  were  these  that  the  author 
and  his  old  shipmate  Ned  Myers  carried  about 
the  village  to  different  homes.  Many  also  were 
the  talks  that  Cooper  and  his  friend  and  con 
stant  companion,  Judge  Nelson,  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  had  on  garden  affairs,  as  well  as  on  legal 
and  political  questions  of  the  day;  many  were 
their  visits  to  the  hot-beds  and  melon  hills. 
"  Ah,  those  muskmelons !  Carefully  were  they 
watched."  This  penman  was  frankly  proud  of 
his  melons,  their  early  growth  and  flavor.  But 

[  265  ] 


for  all  his  care  this  melon-pride  met  its  Water 
loo  one  spring  in  a  special  box  of  superior  seed, 
started  in  a  favored  place  for  light  and  warmth, 


JUDGE  NELSON. 

and  to  be  early  transplanted.  Soon  the  tiny  green 
blades  appeared,  duly  became  leaflets,  to  the  joy 
of  the  Judge  and  the  planter.  "  Those  two  ven 
erable  heads  bending  together  in  close  scrutiny 
over  the  young  plants  was  a  pleasant  sight,  in  the 
author's  eager  interest  and  genial  sympathy  of 
the  Judge."  But  alas!  neither  jurist  nor  novel 
ist  was  a  botanist,  and  the  triumphantly  expected 
melon  vines  basely  proved  after  a  few  more  days 
of  tender  nursing  to  be  the  leaves  of  "  that  vaga- 

[  266  ] 


bond  weed,  the  wild-cucumber  vine."  Here  too 
he  gathered  material  for  future  books,  and  did 
much  writing.  Evening  twilight  often  found 
him  pacing  the  large  hall,  his  hands  behind  him, 
his  head  doing  active  duty  in  decisive  nods  of 
yea  and  nay,  and  words  spoken  aloud  for  putting 
on  paper  in  his  library  next  morning.  Some  of 
this  writing  was  to  his  profit  and  pleasure,  and 
some,  alas!  to  his  sad  disturbance  —  as  was  "  A 
Letter  to  his  Countrymen,"  published  in  1834. 

A  picture  of  this  Otsego-Hall  home  life  would 
prove  a  sorry  failure  with  "  Pumpkin  "  left  out. 
Therefore  appears  Pumpkin,  the  family  horse, 
who  earned  his  name  by  drawing  a  load  of  pump 
kins  for  Seraphina,  the  cow,  to  eat.  It  is  of  note 
that  his  horseship  carried  "  a  very  light  whisp 
of  a  tail,  and  had  a  gait  all  his  own  in  going  at 
times  on  three  legs  and,  at  times,  kicking  up  both 
hind  ones  in  a  way  more  amusing  than  alarming, 
by  leaving  an  interesting  doubt  as  to  fore  or  aft 
movement,  in  the  mind  of  his  driver." 

Of  Cooper's  daily  active  life  Mr.  Keese  notes : 
"  He  rose  early,  did  much  writing  before  break 
fasting  at  nine,  and  afterwards  until  eleven 
o'clock.  Then  Pumpkin,  hitched  to  his  yellow 
buggy,  was  brought  to  the  door  ";  and  when  her 

[  267  ] 


health  would  allow,  Mrs.  Cooper  often  went  with 
her  husband  to  their  chalet  farm.  Sometimes  it 
was  his  author-daughter  who  went  with  her 
father;  and  again,  some  friend  was  hailed  from 
the  street  for  the  trip.  These  several  active 
hours  would  give  him  a  fine  appetite  for  their 
three  o'clock  dinner,  on  his  return.  "  The  late 
afternoon  and  evening  were  given  to  friends  at 
home,  or  to  visiting,  and  often  to  his  favorite 
game  of  chess  with  Mrs.  Cooper." 

Some  two  years  after  Cooper's  return  from 
abroad,  a  friend  about  to  sail  for  Europe  met  him 
walking  leisurely  along  Broadway  with  his  coat 
open  and  a  great  string  of  onions  in  his  hand. 
Seeing  several  persons  turn  to  look  at  him,  then 
speak  to  each  other,  the  friend  too  turned  —  "  and 
behold,  it  was  Cooper!"  After  greetings  he 
raised  his  bunch  of  onions  and  said :  "  I  have 
turned  farmer,  but  am  obliged  to  come  to  town 
now  and  then,  as  you  see."  Kind  remembrances 
were  sent  to  Greenough;  and  of  Italy  he  added: 
'  There  is  no  place  where  mere  living  is  such  a 
luxury." 

Fenimore  Cooper  had  a  keen  sense  of  the 
ridiculous.  His  table-talk  by  his  own  fireside 
was  full  of  cheery  life,  fun,  and  glowing  mer- 

[  268  ] 


riment.  "  Severe  and  stern  his  fine  face  could 
be  when  touching  on  serious  subjects,"  but  his 
relish  of  the  ludicrous  and  comical  was  very 
strongly  marked,  and  when  such  came  his  way 
in  reading,  it  was  carried  at  once  to  the  family 
circle  and  read  by  him  with  zest,  and  a  laugh 
so  hearty  it  brought  the  tears  rolling  down  his 
cheeks.  While  in  Europe  he  outlined  a  satirical 
tale  in  which  the  men's  parts  should  be  seriously 
assumed  by  monkeys.  An  English  baronet,  Sir 
John  Goldencalf,  and  a  Yankee  skipper,  Cap 
tain  Noah  Poke,  wrere  made  to  travel  together 
through  the  different  parts  of  Monkeyland, 
called  Leaphigh,  Leaplow,  and  Leapthrough, 
representing  England,  America,  and  France. 
This  tale  was  hastily  written  in  his  New  York 
home  on  Bleecker  Street  near  Thompson.  Of 
these  countries,  their  people,  and  that  time,  the 
story  was  a  strong,  clever,  and  ludicrous  pic 
ture,  which  in  this  day  would  be  accepted  as 
such,  and  be  equally  helpful  and  amusing  to 
writers  and  readers.  It  was  called  "  The  Moni- 
kins,"  and  was  published  in  1835. 

Delight  in  the  scenery  of  Switzerland  led 
Cooper  to  put  in  book  form  his  notes  on  his 
visits  to  that  small  country  of  many  interests 

[  269  ] 


and  magnificent  views.  Under  the  name  of 
"  Sketches  in  Switzerland,"  it  was  published  in 
1836.  The  France  and  England  part  of  his 
"  Gleanings  in  Europe  "  went  to  print  the  next 
year.  Concerning  his  book  on  old  England, 
Cooper,  in  the  autumn  of  1837,  writes:  "They 
tell  me  it  has  made  a  stir  in  London,  where  I 
get  abused  and  read  a  la  Trollope.  It  ought  to 
do  them  good,  but  whether  it  does  or  not  de 
pends  upon  Divine  grace."  This  effort  has  been 
called  keen,  clever,  but  untimely,  tending  rather 
to  set  people  by  their  ears  than  to  save  them 
from  their  sins. 

In  the  summer  of  1837  Cooper  found  himself 
facing  the  disputed  ownership  of  '  Three-Mile 
Point  "  of  Lake  Otsego.  On  his  return  from 
Europe  he  found  that  his  townspeople  regarded 
this  point -- Myrtle  Grove  —  as  belonging  to 
them.  But  Judge  Cooper's  wrill  left  it  to  all  his 
heirs  until  1850,  when  it  was  to  go  to  the  young 
est  bearing  his  name.  While  willing  to  allow 
the  villagers  picnic  privileges,  Cooper  insisted 
on  his  clear  title  to  this  pretty  shore  point;  but 
Cooperstown  Solons  hotly  fought  what  they 
called  "  the  arrogant  claims  of  one  J.  Fenimore 
Cooper,"  w7ho,  however,  finally  proved  his  title 

[  270  ] 


\YiLD-RosE  POINT  OR  THREE-MILE  POINT. 

by  winning  the  case  at  law.  But  he  lost  much 
of  the  good-will  of  his  townsmen,  whom  he 
thought  "  progressive  in  killing  the  red-man  and 
chopping  down  trees."  The  beauty  of  this  Wild- 
Rose  Point  claimed  Cooper's  earliest  love.  He 
made  it  the  scene  where  Deerslayer  and  Chin- 
gachgook  rescued  Wah-ta-Wah.  Its  flatiron- 
shaped  pebble-beach  jutted  out  from  the  lake's 
west  shore  and  was  covered  with  fine  old  forest 
trees  garlanded  with  vines;  and  from  their  grav 
eled  rootage  there  gurgled  a  limpid  spring  of 
sweet  waters.  Then  a  wild  brook  came  brawling 
down  the  hills  to  find  its  gentle  outlet  on  the 
beach.  Azalias  and  wild  roses  made  its  shrub 
bery,  while  pitcher-plant,  moccasin-flower,  gen- 

[  271  ] 


I 


^^  tians    blue    and    white, 

with  brilliant  lobelias, 
were  among  the  native 
blossoms  that  charmed 
the  author's  childhood 
and  made  this  Three- 
Mile  Point  especially 
dear  to  him. 

The  Italian  part  of 
Cooper's  "  Gleanings  in 
Europe "  was  brought 
to  print  in  1838,  and 
later  in  this  year  ap 
peared  ' '  The  American 
Democrat."  Then 
"  Homeward  Bound,"  its 
sequel,  "  Home  as 
Found,"  and  the 
"  Chronicles  of  Coopers- 
town  "  -  all  came  in 
hot  haste  from  the  author's  modest  three-story 
brick  home  in  St.  Mark's  Place  near  Third  Ave 
nue  in  New  York  City.  In  these  books  Cooper 
told  his  side  of  foreign  and  town  troubles,  and  it 
was  said  that  not  ten  places  or  persons  could  com 
plain  in  truth  that  they  had  been  overlooked. 

[  272  ] 


COOPER'S  ST.  MARK'S  PLACE 
HOME,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 


Thereby  New  York  society  and  the  American 
press  became  greatly  excited.  Cooper  was  ever  a 
frank  friend  or  an  open  enemy.  A  critic  wrote 
of  him  and  this  time:  "  He  had  the  courage  to 
defy  the  majority  and  confound  the  press,  from 
a  heavy  sense  of  duty,  with  ungrateful  truths. 
With  his  manly,  strong  sense  of  right  and 
wrong  he  had  a  high  regard  for  courage  in 
men  and  purity  in  women,  but,  with  his  keen 
sense  of  justice,  he  was  not  always  judicious. 
Abroad  he  defended  his  country  with  vigor,  and 
was  fearless  in  warning  and  advising  her,  when 
needful,  at  home.  While  he  never  mistook  '  her 
geese  for  swans/  he  was  a  patriot  to  the  very 
core  of  his  heart/'  However,  this  over-critical 
writing  soon  became  newspaper  gossip,  and  began 
for  Cooper  six  long  years  of  tedious  lawsuits, 
finally  settled  in  his  favor  in  1843.  With  such 
able  men  as  Horace  Greeley,  Park  Benjamin, 
and  Thurlow  Weed  among  others  in  battle-array 
against  him,  Cooper  closed  this  strife  himself 
by  making  a  clear,  brilliant,  and  convincing  six- 
hour  address  before  the  court  during  a  pro 
found  silence.  Well  may  it  be  said :  "  It  was  a 
good  fight  he  fought  and  an  honorable  victory 
he  won  "  when  he  silenced  the  press  as  to  pub- 

[  273  1 


lishing  private  or  personal  affairs.  His  speech 
was  received  with  bursts  of  applause,  and  of  his 
closing  argument  an  eminent  lawyer  said:  "I 
have  heard  nothing  like  it  since  the  days  of 
Emmet."  "  It  was  clear,  skilful,  persuasive,  and 
splendidly  eloquent,"  is  another's  record.  At  the 
Globe  Hotel  the  author  wrote  his  wife  the  out 
come,  and  added:  "  I  tell  you  this,  my  love,  be 
cause  I  know  it  will  give  you  pleasure."  In 
"  American  Bookmen,"  by  M.  A.  De  Wolfe  Howe, 
it  appears  that  when  going  to  one  of  his  Cooper 
trials  Mr.  Weed  picked  up  a  new  book  to  shorten 
the  journey.  It  proved  to  be  "  The  Two  Ad 
mirals,"  and  says  Weed:  "  I  commenced  reading 
it  in  the  cars,  and  became  so  charmed  that  I  took 
it  into  the  court-room  and  occupied  every  interval 
that  my  attention  could  be  withdrawn  from  the 
trial  with  its  perusal."  Mr.  Howe  adds:  "  Plain 
tiff  and  defendant  have  rarely  faced  each  other 
under  stranger  conditions." 

While  in  the  St.  Mark's-Place  home  the  family 
found  Frisk,  described  by  Mr.  Keese  as  "  a  little 
black  mongrel  of  no  breed  whatever,  rescued 
from  under  a  butcher's  cart  in  St.  Mark's  Place, 
with  a  fractured  leg,  and  tenderly  cared  for 
until  recovery.  He  was  taken  to  Cooperstown, 

[  274  ] 


PARK  BENJAMIN. 


THURLOW  WEED. 


HORACE  GREELEY. 


where  he  died  of  old  age  after  the  author  him 
self.  Mr.  Cooper  was  rarely  seen  on  the  street 
without  Frisk." 

The  shores  of  Otsego,  "  the  Susquehanna's 
utmost  spring,"  Cooper  made  the  scenic  part  of 
"Home  as  Found,"  but  high  authority  asserts 
the  characters  to  be  creatures  of  the  author's 
fancy,  all  save  one,  —  "  a  venerable  figure,  tall 
and  upright,  to  be  seen  for  some  three-score 
years  moving  to  and  fro  over  its  waters;  still 
ready  to  give,  still  ready  to  serve;  still  gladly 
noting  all  of  good;  but  it  was  with  the  feeling 
that  no  longer  looked  for  sympathy."  It  was  of 
"  Home  as  Found  "  that  Morse  wrote  to  Cooper: 
"  I  will  use  the  frankness  to  say  I  wish  you  had 
not  written  it.  But  whenever  am  I  to  see  you?  ' 

The  effect  of  this  conflict  with  the  press  so 
cut  the  sale  of  Cooper's  books  that  in  1843  he 
wrote :  "  I  know  many  of  the  New  York  book 
sellers  are  afraid  to  touch  my  works  on  account 
of  the  press  of  that  righteous  and  enlightened 
city."  Of  these  disturbing  conditions  Balzac's 
opinion  was :  "  Undoubtedly  Cooper's  renown  is 
not  due  to  his  countrymen  nor  to  the  English :  he 
owes  it  mainly  to  the  ardent  appreciation  of 

France." 

[  276  ] 


Cooper's  income,  from  England,  suffered  on  ac 
count  of  an  act  of  Parliament  change,  in  1838,  of 
the  copy-right  law.  But  his  London  publisher, 
Bentley,  was  credited  with  usually  giving  the 
author  about  $1500  each  for  his  later  stories. 
Report  gave  him  about  $5000  each  for  his  prior 
works. 

May  10,  1839,  Cooper  published  his  "  History 
of  the  United  States  Navy."  It  was  first  favored 
and  then  severely  criticised  at  home  and  abroad; 
but  the  author  was  fourteen  years  in  gath 
ering  his  material,  and  his  close  contact  with 
navy  officers  and  familiarity  with  sea  life  made 
him  well  qualified  for  the  work.  He  had  not 
yet  convinced  the  press  that  an  author's  and 
editor's  right  to  criticise  was  mutual;  that  each 
might  handle  the  other's  public  work  as  roughly 
as  he  pleased,  but  neither  might  touch  on  the 
other's  private  affairs.  However,  the  "  Naval 
History "  sold  well  and  has  borne  the  test  of 
time,  and  still  remains  an  authority  on  subjects 
treated.  There  are  many  officers  who  well  re 
member  their  delight  on  first  reading  those 
accounts  of  the  battles  of  long-ago,  of  which 
Admiral  Du  Pont  said  that  any  lieutenant 
"  should  be  ashamed  not  to  know  by  heart." 

[  277  ] 


One  well  qualified  to  judge  called  Cooper's 
"  Naval  History  "  "  one  of  the  noblest  tributes 
ever  paid  to  a  noble  profession." 

When  "  The  Pathfinder  "  came  later  from  the 
author's  pen  critics  were  startled  from  the  press- 
estimate  of  his  character  by  "  the  novel  beauty 
of  that  glorious  work-- I  must  so  call  it,"  said 
Bryant.  Natty's  goodness  a  dangerous  gift 
might  prove  for  popular  success,  but  its  appeal 
to  Washington  Irving  won  this  record:  "They 
may  say  what  they  will  of  Cooper;  the  man 
who  wrote  this  book  is  not  only  a  great  man, 
but  a  good  man."  Balzac  held  it  to  be  "  un 
beau  livrc"  and  thought  Cooper  owed  his  high 
place  in  modern  literature  to  painting  of  the 
sea  and  seamen,  and  idealizing  the  magnificent 
landscapes  of  America.  It  was  of  Cooper  and 
his  works  that  Balzac  wrote :  "  With  what  amaz 
ing  power  has  he  painted  nature!  How  all  his 
pages  glow  with  creative  fire !  " 

Concerning  Cooper's  innate  love  for  his  home- 
country  scenery,  Dr.  Francis  gives  this  incident: 
"  It  was  a  gratifying  spectacle  to  see  Cooper  with 
old  Colonel  Trumbull,  the  historical  painter,  dis- 
canting  on  Cole's  pencil  in  delineating  American 
forest-scenery  —  a  theme  richest  in  the  world  for 

[  278  ] 


JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER. 

From  a  daguerreotype  by  Brady. 


Cooper.  The  venerable  Colonel  with  his  patrician 
dignity,  and  Cooper  with  his  aristocratic  bearing, 
yet  democratic  sentiment.  Trumbull  was  one  of 
the  many  old  men  I  knew  who  delighted  in 
Cooper's  writings,  and  in  conversation  dwelt  upon 
his  captivating  genius." 

Personally,  Mr.  Cooper  was  a  noble  type  of 
our  race.  He  was  of  massive,  compact  form, 
a  face  of  strong  intelligence  and  glowing  with 
masculine  beauty,  in  his  prime.  His  portraits, 
though  imposing,  by  no  means  do  justice  to  the 

[  280  ] 


impressive  and  vivacious  presence  of  the  man. 
This  pen  picture  is  by  one  who  knew  the  author 
well. 


CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


COLUMBUS'  P'LEET. 

On  July  8,  of  this  year,  Cooper  was  made  a 
member  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  and 
the  following  autumn  "  Mercedes  of  Castile " 
came  from  his  pen.  It  relates  the  first  voyage 

[  281  ] 


of  Columbus,  and  "  with  special  knowledge  of  a 
seaman,  the  accuracy  of  an  historian,  and  with 
something  of  the  fervor  of  a  poet." 

Gleaning  Miss  Cooper's  "  Pages  and  Pictures," 
one  reads,  as  to  "  The  Deerslayer  ":  "  One  pleas 
ant  summer  evening  the  author  of  '  The  Path 
finder,'  driving  along  the  shady  lake  shore,  was, 
as  usual,  singing;  not,  however,  a  burst  of  Burns's 
'Scots  wha  ha'  wi'  Wallace  bled!'  or  Moore's 
'  Love's  Young  Dream,'  -  -  his  favorites,  —  but 
this  time  a  political  song  of  the  party  opposing 
his  own.  Suddenly  he  paused  as  a  woods'  open 
ing  revealed  to  his  spirited  gray  eye  an  inspir 
ing  view  of  Otsego's  poetical  waters."  When 
the  spell  was  broken  he  turned  to  his  beloved 
daughter  and  exclaimed:  "  I  must  write  one  more 
book,  dearie,  about  our  little  lake !  "  Another 
far-seeing  look  was  taken,  to  people  this  beau 
tiful  scene  with  the  creatures  of  his  fancy,  fol 
lowed  by  a  moment  of  silence,  then  cracking  his 
whip,  he  resumed  his  song  with  some  careless 
chat,  and  drove  home.  A  few  days  later  the 
first  pages  of  the  new  book  were  written.  When 
the  touch  of  Time  was  frosting  his  own  head, 
he  leads  Natty,  as  a  youth,  over  the  first  war 
path  of  his  hero.  And  so  the  "  Glimmerglass  " 

[  282  ] 


IP- 


THE  GLIMMERGLASS. 


and  its  "  Mt.  Vision "  country  grew  into  the 
story  of  "The  Deerslayer";  it  is  "  the  very 
soul  of  the  little  lake  overflowing  with  youthful 
freshness  and  vivid  with  stirring  adventure." 
On  the  bosom  of  its  waters  is  anchored  "  Musk- 
rat  Castle/7  and  over  it,  to  and  fro,  move  the 
"  Ark  of  Floating  Tom  "  and  the  Indian  canoes, 
which  gave  a  strange,  wild  interest  to  the  story. 
Afloat  and  ashore  come  those  unlike  sisters,  - 
proud  Judith,  handsome  but  designing,  and 
simple-hearted  Hetty,  gentle,  innocent,  and  art 
less;  both  so  real  and  feminine,  and  yet  so  far 
removed  from  their  supposed  father,  the  buc 
caneer.  Then  comes  this  Uncas  of  the  eagle 
air,  swooping  with  lithe  movement  to  his  rocky 
trysting-place.  And  Uncas  is  in  strong  contrast 
with  "The  Pathfinder's"  "Arrowhead,"  who 
was  a  wonder-sketch  of  the  red-man's  treachery 

[  283  ] 


and  vengeance,  while  his  sweet  girl-wife,  "  Dew- 
of-June,"  shows,  true  to  life,  an  Indian  woman's 
unfaltering  devotion  to  her  savage  lord.     Over 
all  its  pages  broods  the  commanding  spirit  of 
"  The  Deerslayer,"  —  the  forest's  young  Bayard 
who  has  yet  to  learn  what  the  taking  of  human 
life  is  like.     So,  in  "  The  Deerslayer,"  printed 
in  1841,  the  "  Little  Lake"   (Otsego),  with  its 
picturesque    shores,    capes,    and    forest-crowned 
heights,   was   made   classic   soil.     Just   back   of 
"The     Five-Mile     Point"  —  where     Deerslayer 
gave  himself  up  to  merciless  Indian  justice  at  the 
Huron  Camp,  and  later  was  rescued  by  British 
regulars  —  is   the   rocky  gorge,   Mohican   Glen, 
through   which   a   purling  brook   ripples  by   its 
stone-rift  banks  thatched  with  great  clumps  of 
rose  and   fern.     From  the  gravel-strewn  shore 
of  Mutter's  Point  beyond,  the  eyes  of  Leather- 
stocking  first   fell  upon  the  Glimmerglass,   and 
impressed    by    its    wonder    and    beauty    he    ex 
claimed:   "This  is  grand!  'tis  solemn!  'tis  an 
edication  of  itself."     Leaning  on  his  rifle  and 
gazing  in   every   direction,   he   added:     'Not   a 
tree  disturbed,  but  everything  left  to  the  order 
ing  of  the  Lord,  to  live  and  die,  to  His  designs 
and  laws!     This  is  a  sight  to  warm  the  heart." 

[  284  ] 


The  tribes,  hunters,  and  trappers  had  their  "  own 
way  of  calling  things,"  and  "  seeing  the  whole 
basin,  often  fringed  with  pines,  would  throw 
back  the  hills  that  hung  over  it,"  they  "  got  to 
calling  the  place  the  *  Glimmerglass.' '  At 
Gravelly  Point  opposite,  Deerslayer  killed  his 
first  Indian,  and  above  are  the  tree-tops  where 
rose  the  star  that  timed  Hist's  meeting  with 
her  lover.  Some  distance  to  the  north  is  the 
spot  —  now  known  as  the  "  Sunken  Islands  " 
which  marks  the  site  of  Muskrat  Castle,  and  is 
near  the  last  resting-place  of  Hetty  Hutter  and 
her  mother.  And  far  to  the  southwest  lies  a 
long,  low,  curving  beach  jutting  sickle-shape  into 
the  lake.  As  a  favored  haunt  of  muskrats,  it 
was  once  called  Muskrat  Cove,  and  now  Black 
bird  Bay.  Just  beyond  lies  Fenimore,  the  home 
of  Cooper's  early  married  life. 

In  the  author's  pages  on  England,  published 
in  1837,  was  expressed  a  wash  to  write  a  story 
on  "  the  teeming  and  glorious  naval  history  of 
that  land."  Our  own  country  at  that  time  had 
no  fleet,  but  Cooper's  interest  in  his  youthful 
profession  made  quite  fitting  to  himself  the  words 
of  his  old  shipmate,  Ned  Myers:  "I  can  say 
conscientiously  that  if  my  life  were  to  be  passed 

[  286  ] 


over  again  it  would  be  passed  in  the  navy  —  God 
bless  the  flag!  "  Out  of  England's  long  naval 
records  Cooper  made  "  The  Two  Admirals,"  an 
old-time,  attractive  story  of  the  evolution  of 
fleets,  and  the  warm  friendship  between  two 
strong-hearted  men  in  a  navy  full  of  such,  and 
at  a  time  before  the  days  of  steam.  "  Cooper's 
ships  live,"  so  says  Captain  Mahan;  and  con 
tinues  :  "  They  are  handled  as  ships  then  were, 
and  act  as  ships  still  would  act  under  the  cir 
cumstances."  This  naval  historian  thought  "  the 
water  a  noble  field  for  the  story-teller."  '  The 
Two  Admirals "  first  appeared  in  Graham's 
Magazine,  for  which  Cooper  was  regularly  en 
gaged  to  write  in  1842.  On  June  16  of  this 
year  a  decision  was  rendered  in  the  'l  Naval 
History "  dispute.  One  of  the  questions  was 
whether  Cooper's  account  of  the  battle  of  Lake 
Erie  was  accurate  and  fair  and  did  justice  to  the 
officers  in  command,  and  whether  he  was  right  in 
asserting  that  Elliott,  second  in  command,  whom 
Perry  at  first  warmly  commended  and  later 
preferred  charges  against,  did  his  duty  in  that 
action.  Cooper  maintained  that  while  Perry's 
victory  in  1813  had  won  for  himself,  "  as  all 
the  world  knows,  deathless  glory,"  injustice 

[  287  ] 


had  been  done  to  Elliott.  Three  arbitrators 
chosen  by  the  parties  to  the  dispute  decided 
that  Cooper  had  fulfilled  his  duty  as  an  his 
torian;  that  "  the  narrative  of  his  battle  of  Lake 
Erie  was  true;  that  it  was  impartial";  and 
that  his  critics'  "  review  was  untrue,  not  im 
partial";  and  that  they  "should  publish  this 
decision  in  New  York,  Washington,  and  Albany 
papers."  Later  Commodore  Elliott  presented 
Cooper  with  a  bronze  medal  for  this  able  and 
disinterested  "  defense  of  his  brother-sailor." 

Professor  Lounsbury's  summary  of  Cooper's 
"  Naval  History  "  is:  "  It  is  safe  to  say,  that  for 
the  period  which  it  covers  it  is  little  likely  to  be 
superseded  as  the  standard  history  of  the  Ameri 
can  navy.  Later  investigation  may  show  some  of 
the  author's  assertions  to  be  erroneous.  Some  of 
his  conclusions  may  turn  out  as  mistaken  as  have 
his  prophecies  about  the  use  of  steam  in  war 
vessels.  But  such  defects,  assuming  that  they 
exist,  are  more  than  counterbalanced  by  advan 
tages  which  make  it  a  final  authority  on  points  that 
can  never  again  be  so  fully  considered.  Many 
sources  of  information  which  were  then  accessible 
no  longer  exist.  The  men  who  shared  in  the 
scenes  described,  and  who  communicated  inf orma- 

[  288  ] 


JESSE  D.  ELLIOTT'S  LAKE  ERIE  MEDAL. 


\M, 


MEDAL  GIVEN  TO  JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER  BY  JESSE  D.  ELLIOTT. 


tion  directly  to  Cooper,  have  all  passed  away. 
These  are  losses  that  can  never  be  replaced,  even 
were  it  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  same  prac 
tical  knowledge,  the  same  judicial  spirit  and  the 
same  power  of  graphic  description  could  be  found 
united  again  in  the  same  person."  Most  amus 
ing  was  Cooper's  own  story  of  a  disputing  man 
who  being  told :  "  Why,  that  is  as  plain  as  two 
and  two  make  four/'  replied:  "  But  I  dispute 
that  too,  for  two  and  two  make  twenty-two." 

Cooper  called  the  Mediterranean,  its  shores 
and  countries,  "  a  sort  of  a  world  apart,  that 
is  replete  with  charms  which  not  only  fascinate 
the  beholder,  but  linger  in  the  memories  of  the 
absent  like  visions  of  a  glorious  past."  And  so 
his  cruise  in  1830,  in  the  Bella  Genovese,  en 
tered  into  the  pages  of  "  Wing-and-Wing."  The 
idea  was  to  bring  together  sailors  of  all  nations 
-  English,  French,  Italian,  and  Yankee  —  on 
the  Mediterranean  and  aboard  a  French  water- 
craft  of  peculiar  Italian  rig  —  the  lateen  sail. 
These  sails  spread  like  the  great  white  wings 
of  birds,  and  the  craft  glides  among  the  islands 
and  hovers  about  every  gulf  and  bay  and  rocky 
coast  of  that  beautiful  sea.  Under  her  dashing 
young  French  captain,  Raoul  Yvard,  Le  Fen 

[  290  ] 


Follet  (Jack-o'-Lantern  or  fire-fly,  as  you  will) 
glides  like  a  water-sprite  here,  there,  and  every 
where,  guided  by  Cooper's  sea  phrases, -- for 
which  he  had  an  unfailing  instinct,  —  that  meant 


ISLAND  OF  ELBA. 

something  "  even  to  the  land-lubber  who  does 
not  know  the  lingo."  It  is  said  many  down- 
east  fishermen  never  tire  of  Cooper,  but  despise 
many  of  his  followers  because  of  their  misuse 
of  sea  terms.  But  more  of  "  Wing-and-Wing  " : 
there  was  lovely  Ghita,  so  sweet  and  brave,  and 
anxious  for  her  daring  young  lover  Raoul,  and 
stricken  by  the  tragedies  that  befell  her  in  the 
wake  of  Lord  Nelson's  fleet.  The  brown  moun 
tains  of  Porta  Farrajo,  "  a  small,  crowded  town 
with  little  forts  and  a  wall,"  Cooper  had  seen. 

[  291  ] 


ELBA  HOME  OF  NAPOLEON. 

He  had  tested  its  best  inn,  The  Four  Nations, 
by  a  good  dinner  in  its  dining-room  of  seven 
mirrors  and  a  broken  tile  floor,  and  had  some 
talk  with  its  host  as  to  their  late  ruler,  —  he  said 
Napoleon  came  that  evening,  sent  at  once  for 
Elba's  oldest  flag,  which  was  run  up  on  the  forts 
as  a  sign  of  independence.  Cooper  saw  Napo 
leon's  Elba  home,  — "  a  low,  small  house  and 
two  wings,  with  ten  windows  in  its  ninety  feet 
of  front."  He  also  saw  the  more  comfortable 

[  292  1 


THE  BATTLE  OF  LAKE  ERIE. 

one-story  home  of  Napoleon's  mother.  Other 
isles  and  shores  seen  then  —  during  his  cruise 
in  the  Bella  Gcnovcse  --  found  place  in  "  Wing- 
and-Wing,"  published  in  1842.  The  knowledge 
thus  obtained  of  localities  and  the  Italians  led 
Cooper  to  say :  "  Sooner  or  later  Italy  will,  in 
evitably,  become  a  single  state;  this  is  a  result 
that  I  hold  to  be  certain,  though  the  means  by 
which  it  is  to  be  effected  are  still  hidden." 

During  1843  appeared  in  Graham's  Magazine 
Cooper's  "Life-Sketch  of  Perry,"  "The  Battle 
of  Lake  Erie,"  and  "  The  Autobiography  of  a 
Pocket-handkerchief,"  or  "  Social  Life  in  New 

[  293  ] 


Tawrei-tec  crxRplecl  and  7vassxio£/  oirfc 


COOPER'S  DIAGRAM  OF  THE  BATTLE  or  LAKE  ERIE. 


COOPER'S  DIAGRAM  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  BON  HOMME  RICHARD  AND  THE 

SERAPIS. 


York."  This  volume  of  Graham's  Magazine  also 
included  the  life  of  "  John  Paul  Jones/'  wherein 
appeared  Cooper's  masterful  description  of  the 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BON  HOMME  RICHARD  AND  THE  SERAPIS. 

celebrated  battle  of  the  Bon  Hoininc  Richard  - 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  the  brief  annals 
of  that  time  of  American  naval  warfare. 
Of  John  Paul  Jones  himself  Cooper  wrote : 
''  In  battle,  Paul  Jones  was  brave ;  in  enterprise, 
hardy  and  original ;  in  victory,  mild  and  generous ; 
in  motives,  much  disposed  to  disinterestedness, 
though  ambitious  of  renown  and  covetous  of  dis 
tinction  ;    in  pecuniary  relations,  liberal ;    in  his 
affections,  natural  and  sincere ;  and  in  his  temper, 
except  in  those  cases  which  assailed  his  reputation, 
just  and  forgiving." 

Fenimore  Cooper  was  a  veritable  pioneer  in 
[  295  ] 


spirit.  He  delighted  in  the  details  of  American 
"  clearing,"  -  from  the  first  opening  of  the  for 
est  to  sunlight,  by  the  felling  of  trees  and  stump- 
extractor,  to  the  neat  drain  and  finished  stone 
wall.  On  the  mountain  slope  of  Otsego's  shore, 
and  less  than  two  miles  from  Cooperstown,  lay 


STUMP  EXTRACTOR. 

his  small  farm  belted  with  woodland,  from  which 
he  had  filched  it  in  true  pioneer  fashion.  Con 
cerning  Cooper's  "  costly  contest  with  the  soil/' 
Mr.  Keese  tells  us:  '*  The  inspiring  beauty  of  its 
commanding  views  caught  Cooper's  fancy  for 
buying  it  far  more  than  any  meager  money  re 
turns  its  two  hundred  acres  could  promise." 
After  ten  years  of  devoted  care  the  author  is  on 
record  as  saying  with  some  humor :  "  for  this 

[  296  ] 


year  the  farm  would  actually  pay  expenses." 
But  full  returns  came  in  charming  views  over 
field,  wood,  and  lake,  where  his  fancy  built 
"Muskrat  Castle"  and  the  "Ark  of  Floating 
Tom."  Besides,  its  pork  and  butter  were  the 
sweetest,  its  eggs  the  whitest  and  freshest;  its 
new  peas  and  green  corn  "  fit  for  the  pot  "  were 
the  first  in  the  country.  When  the  morning 
writing  hours  were  over  at  the  Hall,  it  was  to 
the  Chalet,  as  he  called  this  farm,  that  he  drove, 
to  look  after  his  horses,  cows,  pigs,  and  chickens. 
The  dumb  creatures  soon  learned  to  know  and 
love  him.  They  would  gather  about  him  and  fre- 


THE  CHALET  FARM. 

[  297  ] 


quently  follow  him  "  in  a  mixed  procession  often 
not  a  little  comical.  He  had  a  most  kindly  feeling 
for  all  domestic  animals,"  and  "  was  partial  to 
cats  as  well  as  dogs ;  the  pet  half-breed  Angora 
often  perched  on  his  shoulders  while  he  sat  writ 
ing  in  the  library."  Then  there  were  the  work 
men  to  direct,  for  whom  he  always  had  a  kindly 
word.  One  of  these  said :  "  We  never  had  to 
call  on  him  a  second  time  for  a  bill ;  he  brought 
us  the  check.  When  I  knocked  at  his  library 
door  it  was  surprising  how  quickly  I  heard  the 
energetic  '  Come  in/  When  I  met  him  in  the 
street  in  winter  he  often  said :  '  Well,  Thomas, 
what  are  you  driving  at?  '  If  work  was  dull  he 
would  try  to  think  of  something  to  set  me  about." 
Of  Cooper's  activity  was  added :  "  When  the 
masons  were  repairing  his  home,  in  1839,  ne>  at 
fifty,  and  then  quite  stout,  went  up  their  steep, 
narrow  ladder  to  the  topmost  scaffold  on  the 
gable  end  and  walked  the  ridge  of  the  house  when 
the  chimney  was  on  fire."  The  Chalet  brought 
to  the  author's  mind  '  Wyandotte,"  or  "The 
Hutted  Knoll,"  a  tale  of  border-life  during  the 
colonial  period.  A  family  of  that  time  forces 
from  the  wilderness  an  affluent  frontier  home  and 
settlement  for  its  successors.  In  "  Sassy  Dick  " 

[  298  ] 


THE  ESCAPE  —  FROM  "WYANDOTTE." 

the  idle  and  fallen  Indian  is  pathetically  por 
trayed:  Dick's  return  to  the  dignity  of  Wyan- 
dotte,  the  Indian  chief,  by  reason  of  the  red- 
man's  fierce  instincts,  is  a  pen-picture  strong  in 
contrasts,  illustrating  how  "he  never  forgot  a 
favor  nor  forgave  an  injury."  This  story  and 
that  of  Ned  Myers  were  published  in  1843. 

[    299  ] 


Of  these  years  there  are  records  of  Cooper's 
kindly  love  for  little  folk.  Miss  Caroline  A.  Foot, 
a  schoolgirl  of  thirteen  and  a  frequent  visitor 
at  Otsego  Hall,  had  always  a  warm  welcome  from 
Mr.  Cooper  and  his  family.  When  she  was  about 
to  leave  her  Cooperstown  home  for  another  else 
where,  "  she  made  bold  to  enter  his  sanctum, 
carrying  her  album  in  her  hand  and  asking  him 
to  write  a  verse  or  two  in  the  same."  Those 
verses  have  been  treasured  many  years  by  that 
little  girl,  who  became  Mrs.  George  Pomeroy 
Keese.  Two  of  her  treasured  verses  are: 

TO    CAROLINE    A.    FOOT 

But  now,  dear  Cally,  comes  the  hour 
When  triumph  crowns  thy  will, 

Submissive  to  thy  winning  power 
I  seize  the  recreant  quill : 

Indite  these  lines  to  bless  thy  days 

And  sing  my  peans  in  thy  praise. 

In  after  life  when  thott  shalt  grow 
To  womanhood,  and  learn  to  feel 

The  tenderness  the  aged  know 
To  guide  their  children's  weal, 

Then  wilt  thou  bless  with  bended  knee 

Some  smiling  child  as  I  bless  thee. 

J.  FENIMORE  COOPER. 

OTSEGO  HALL,  August,  1843. 

[   300   ] 


The  delight  of  the  winsome  little  lady  was 
great,  not  only  for  the  loving  sentiment  but  also 
for  the  autograph,  which  is  now  both  rare  and 
valuable.  Not  long  after  the  capture  of  her 


Miss  CAROLINE  ADRIANCE  FOOT,  AGE  13. 

verses  a  copy  of  them  was  sent  to  her  friend 
Julia  Bryant,  daughter  of  Mr.  Cooper's  friend, 
the  poet.  Miss  Julia  wrote  at  once  in  reply  that 
she  never  would  be  happy  until  she  too  had  some 
lines  over  the  same  autograph.  An  immediate 
request  was  made  of  Mr.  Cooper  at  his  desk  in 
the  old  Hall  library,  and  with  "  dear  Cally  "  by 
his  side,  he  wrote: 

Charming  young  lady,  Miss  Julia  by  name, 
Your  friend,  little  Cally,  your  wishes  proclaim; 


Read  this  and  you  '11  soon  learn  to  know  it, 
I'm  not  your  papa  the  great  lyric  poet. 

J.  FENIMORE  COOPER. 

On  page  155  of  "The  Cooper stown  Centen 
nial  "  there  appears  "  A  new  glimpse  of  Cooper  " 
-  caught  and  kept  by  yet  another  little  girl  who 
firmly  believed  the  author  to  be  "  a  genuine  lover 
of  children/'  She  writes  that  to  meet  him  on  the 
street  "  was  always  a  pleasure.  His  eye  twin 
kled,  his  face  beamed,  and  his  cane  pointed  at 
you  with  a  smile  and  a  greeting  of  some  forth 
coming  humor.  When  I  happened  to  be  passing 
the  gates  of  the  old  Hall,  and  he  and  Mrs.  Cooper 
were  driving  home  from  his  farm,  I  often  ran  to 
open  the  gate  for  him,  which  trifling  act  he 
always  acknowledged  with  old-time  courtesy. 
His  fine  garden  joined  my  father's,  and  once, 
being  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fence,  he  tossed  me 
several  muskmelons  to  catch,  which  at  that  time 
were  quite  rare."  In  1844  Mr-  Cooper  sent  this 
youthful  miss  a  picture-book,  "  The  Young  Amer 
ican's  Library."  "The  Primer"  came  with  a 
note  "  written  on  large  paper,  with  a  large  seal.'3 
It  was  a  reprint  from  an  English  copy,  and  kept 
for  sixty  years,  it  is  still  thought  "  delightful 
reading."  In  part  the  accompanying  note  reads : 

[  302  ] 


Miss  ALICE  TRUMBULL  WORTHINGTON,  1844. 

"  Hall,  Cooperstown,  April  22,  1844.  Mr.  Feni- 
more  Cooper  begs  Miss  Alice  Worthington  will 
do  him  the  favor  to  accept  the  accompanying  book 
(which  was  written  expressly  for  Princess  Alice 
of  Great  Britain). 

"  Mr.  Cooper  felt  quite  distressed  for  Miss 
Worthington's  muff  during  the  late  hot  weather, 
and  begs  to  offer  her  the  use  of  his  new  ice-house 
should  the  muff  complain."  Miss  Alice  and  her 
cousin  were  out  walking  a  very  warm  April  day, 
with  their  "  precious  muffs,  which  gave  him  the 
merry  thought  about  the  ice-house."  Four  years 

[  303  1 


later  Miss  Worthington  received  another  letter 
from  Mr.  Cooper,  in  acknowledgment  of  her 
sending  to  him  a  newspaper  clipping  about  one 
of  his  books.  Of  this  letter  is  noted :  "  His  hand 
writing  was  fine,  beautifully  clear,  and  very  dis 
tinguished."  The  note  reads: 

"OTSEGO  HALL,  COOPERSTOWN,  Feb.  12,  1848. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  ALICE  WORTHINGTON,  —  I  have  re 
ceived  your  letter  with  the  most  profound  sentiments 
of  gratitude.  The  compliments  from  the  newspapers 
did  not  make  half  the  impression  that  was  made  by 
your  letter ;  but  the  attentions  of  a  young  lady  of  your 
tender  years,  to  an  old  man,  who  is  old  enough  to  be 
her  grandfather,  are  not  so  easily  overlooked.  Nor 
must  you  mistake  the  value  I  attach  to  the  passage  cut 
from  the  paper,  for,  even  that  coming  through  your 
little  hands  is  far  sweeter  than  would  have  been  two 
candy-horns  filled  with  sugar-plums. 

I  hope  that  you  and  I  and  John  will  have  an 
opportunity  of  visiting  the  blackberry  bushes  next 
summer.  I  now  invite  you  to  select  your  party  —  of 
as  many  little  girls,  and  boys,  too,  if  you  can  find 
those  you  like,  to  go  to  my  farm.  It  shall  be  your 
party,  and  the  invitations  must  go  out  in  your  name. 
You  can  have  your  school  if  you  like.  I  shall  ask  only 
one  guest  myself,  and  that  will  be  John,  who  knows 
the  road. 

With  highest  consideration, 

Your  most  obliged  and  humble  servant, 

J.  FENIMORE  COOPER. 

[  304  ] 


During  1844  Cooper  brought  to  print  "  Afloat 
and  Ashore"  and  "Miles  Wallingford "  - 
"  which  two  are  one,"  he  wrote,  "  with  a  good 
deal  of  love  in  part  second  for  the  delight  of  the 
ladies."  Adventure  is  plenty,  however,  and  the 
water-craft  very  much  alive.  In  England  "  Miles 
Wallingford  "  appeared  under  the  name  of  its 
heroine,  Lucy  Harding;  and,  says  one:  "It  is 
a  hard  task  not  to  fancy  he  was  drawing,  in  slight 
particulars  at  least,  the  picture  of  his  own  wife, 
and  telling  the  story  of  his  early  love."  The  tale 
is  of  the  good  old  times  in  New  York,  and  land 
scenes  of  her  river  counties. 

Those  interested  in  Cooper's  review  of  the 
naval  court-martial  of  Lieutenant  Alexander 
Slidell  Mackenzie,  for  the  execution  of  Spencer, 
will  find  the  whole  subject  and  its  lesson  of  fear 
ful  retribution  in  Graham's  Magazine  of  1843- 
44.  Alleged  "  mutiny  on  the  high  seas  "  was 
charged  to  young  Spencer.  He  was  the  son  of 
Secretary  of  State  John  C.  Spencer  who,  as  super 
intendent  of  public  instruction,  rejected  with 
harsh,  short  comment  Cooper's  "  Naval  History  " 
offered  (unknown  to  the  author)  for  school  use 
and  directed  the  purchase  of  Mackenzie's  "  Life 
of  Perry."  Just  as  Cooper  was  putting  through 

[  305  ] 


LIEUT.  ALEXANDER  SLIDELL  MACKENZIE. 

the  press  his  severe  criticism  of  Mackenzie's 
version  of  the  Battle  of  Lake  Erie,  the  Somcrs 
returned  from  her  unfortunate  cruise.  Cooper 
instantly  stopped  his  paper  at  the  expense  of  a 
round  sum  to  the  printer,  saying :  '  *  The  poor 
fellow  will  have  enough  to  do  to  escape  the 
consequences  of  his  own  weakness.  It  is  no 
time  to  he  hard  on  him  now." 

The  year  1845  brought  from  Cooper's  pen 
"Satanstoe" — quaint,  old-fashioned,  and  the  first 
of  his  three  anti-rent  books.  Its  hero,  a  member 
of  the  Littlepage  family,  writes  his  own  life-story. 
From  his  home  on  one  of  the  necks  of  Long- 
Island  Sound,  in  Westchester  County,  he  visits 
New  York  City,  catches  a  glimpse  of  the  pleasant 

[  306  ] 


Dutch  life  in  Albany,  and  with  comrades  plunges 
into  the  wilderness  to  examine,  work,  and  settle 
his  new,  large  grant  of  land  at  Mooseridge.  Pro 
fessor  Lounsbury's  able  life  of  Cooper  affirms 
of  "  Satanstoe  " :  "  It  is  a  picture  of  colonial  life 


HELL  GATE. 

and  manners  in  New  York  during  the  eighteenth 
century,  such  as  can  be  found  drawn  nowhere 
else  so  truthfully  and  vividly."  The  title  "  Sa 
tanstoe  "  was  given  in  a  moment  of  Cooper's 
"  intense  disgust  "  at  the  "  canting "  attempt 
then  made  to  change  the  name  of  the  dangerous 
passage  of  Hell  Gate,  East  River,  to  Hurl  Gate. 
'  The  Chainbearer,"  second  of  the  anti-rent 
series,  was  published  early  in  1846,  and  contin 
ues  the  story  of  "  Satanstoe  "  in  the  person  of 
the  hero's  son,  who  finds  in  the  squatters  on  his 

[  307  ] 


wilderness  inheritance  the  first  working  of  the 
disorderly  spirit  of  anti-rent  --  the  burning  ques 
tion  of  New  York  at  that  time.  Honest  Andries 
Coejemans  and  his  pretty  niece  Ursula,  the  wily 
Newcome  and  rude  Thousandacres  of  this  story 
are  each  strong  types  of  character. 

The  key  to  Cooper's  own  character  is  expressed 
in  his  words :  "  The  most  expedient  thing  in 
existence  is  to  do  right."  In  the  hour  of  danger 
to  aid  in  protecting  the  rights  of  the  people  from 
abuse  of  these  rights  by  the  evil  minded  among 
themselves,  he  held  to  be  the  high  duty  of  every 
honest,  generous,  and  wise  citizen.  With  such 
sentiments  in  mind,  he  wrote  "  The  Redskins  " 
the  third  and  last  of  the  anti-rent  series.  Distin 
guished  jurists  of  our  country  have  declared  "  re 
markable,"  the  legal  knowledge  and  skill  in  this 
series  of  books. 

Eighteen  hundred  and  forty-six  saw  also  in 
book  form  Cooper's  "  Lives  of  Distinguished 
American  Naval  Officers,"  which  had  already 
appeared  in  Graham's  Magazine.  Many  of  these 
eminent  men  had  been  the  author's  friends  and 
messmates  in  early  life.  In  1847  "  The  Crater, 
or  Vulcan's  Peak  —  A  Tale  of  the  Pacific,"  came 
from  Cooper's  pen.  The  Introduction  states  that 

[  308  ] 


the  book  was  written  from  the  journal  of  a  dis 
tinguished  member  of  the  Woolston  family  of 
Pennsylvania,  who  "  struggled  hard  to  live  more 
in  favor  with  God  than  in  favor  with  man,"  and 
quotes  that  warning  text  of  Scripture :  "  Let  him 
that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take  heed  lest  he  fall !  " 
and  adds,  "  we  have  endeavored  to  imitate  the 
simplicity  of  Captain  Woolston  in  writing  this 
book."  The  story  of  "  a  ship-wrecked  mariner, 
cast  away  on  a  reef  not  laid  down  on  any  chart." 
This  barren  spot  the  castaway  makes  to  bloom 
as  a  rose,  then  brings  immigrants  to  his  Pacific 
Eden,  which  finally  vanishes  like  a  dream.  The 
work  is  said  to  be  an  excellent  study  of  the 
author's  own  character. 

Full  of  spirit  and  vigor  at  fifty-eight,  Mr. 
Cooper  in  June,  1847,  made  a  pleasant  few  weeks' 
visit  to  the  middle  west,  going  as  far  as  Detroit. 
The  country  beyond  Seneca  Lake  —  the  prairies 
and  fine  open  groves  of  Michigan  —  was  new  to 
him.  Affluent  towns  with  well-tilled  lands  be 
tween,  full  of  mid-summer  promise,  where  forty 
years  before  he  had  crossed  a  wilderness,  gave 
added  interest  to  the  entire  way.  He  was  far 
more  deeply  impressed  with  sublime  Niagara 
than  in  his  earlier  years  and  before  he  had  seen 

[  309  1 


NIAGARA  FALLS. 

all  the  falls  of  Europe.  The  idea  of  weaving  its 
majesty  into  an  Indian  story  came  to  him,  but, 
alas!  was  never  written.  He  was  pleased  with 
the  growth  and  promise  of  Buffalo  and  Detroit, 
was  charmed  with  "  the  beautiful  flowery  prairies 
and  natural  groves  of  Michigan,"  and  wrote  of 
them :  "  To  get  an  idea  of  Prairie  Round,  —  im 
agine  an  oval  plain  of  some  thirty-thousand  acres, 
of  surprising  fertility,  without  an  eminence;  a 
few  small  cavities,  however,  are  springs  of  water 
the  cattle  will  drink."  In  the  prairie's  center  was 
a  forest  island  of  some  six  hundred  acres  "  of  the 
noblest  native  trees,"  and  in  the  heart  of  this 


wood  was  a  small  round  lake  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
across.  Into  this  scene  Cooper  called  some  crea 
tures  of  his  fancy;  among  them  a  bee-hunter, 
suggested  by  the  following  incident. 

One  morning  not  long  after  his  return  from 
Europe  he  was  passing,  as  usual,  his  leisure  hours 
at  the  mountain  farm.  While  overlooking  his 
workmen  he  espied  a  small  skiff  leaving  an  oppo 
site  shore-point  of  the  lake  and  making  directly 
for  his  own  landing.  Mr.  Cooper  thought  the 
boatman  was  on  an  errand  to  himself.  Presently 
the  stranger,  tin  pail  in  hand,  made  his  appear 
ance  and  inquired  of  Cooper  and  his  men  whether 
a  large  swarm  of  bees  had  been  seen  "  somewhere 
there-abouts."  He  had  lost  a  fine  swarm  early 
in  the  morning  several  days  before,  and  had  since 
looked  in  vain  for  them;  but  "  a  near-by  farmer's 
wife  had  seen  them  cross  the  lake  that  way."  No 
bees  had  been  seen  by  the  men  of  Chalet.  One  of 
them  said,  however,  "  bees  had  been  very  plenty 
about  the  blossoms  for  a  day  or  two."  The 
farmer  began  to  look  about  closely,  and  from  the 
unusual  number  of  bees  coming  and  going  among 
the  flowers  on  the  hill,  he  felt  sure  his  honey 
bees  were  lodged  somewhere  near.  So,  with  Mr. 
Cooper,  much  interested,  the  search  for  the  lost 


swarm  began.  A  young  grove  skirted  the  cliffs ; 
above  were  scattered  some  full,  tall,  forest  trees, 
-  here  and  there  one  charred  and  lifeless.  The 
farmer  seemed  very  knowing  as  to  bees,  and 
boasted  of  having  one  of  the  largest  bee-sheds  in 
the  county.  Rustic  jokes  at  his  expense  were 
made  by  the  workmen.  They  asked  him  which  of 
the  great  tall  trees  his  bees  had  chosen;  they 
wished  to  know,  for  they  would  like  to  see  him 
climb  it,  as  Mr.  Cooper  had  said  that  no  axe 
should  fell  his  forest  favorites.  The  farmer 
nodded  his  head  and  replied  that  there  was  no 
climbing  nor  chopping  for  him  that  day  —  the 
wreather  was  too  warm;  that  he  intended  to 
call  his  bees  down  —  that  was  his  fashion. 
Taking  up  his  pail  he  began  moving  among 
the  flowers,  and  soon  found  a  honey-bee  sip 
ping  from  the  cup  of  a  rose-raspberry.  He 
said  he  knew  at  once  the  face  of  his  own  bee, 
"  to  say  nothin'  of  the  critter's  talk  "  -  mean 
ing  its  buzzing  of  wings.  A  glass  with  honey 
from  the  tin  pail  soon  captured  the  bee:  un 
easy  at  first,  it  was  soon  sipping  the  sweets. 
When  quite  satisfied  it  was  set  free,  and  its  flight 
closely  followed  by  the  farmer's  eye.  Another 
bee  was  found  on  a  head  of  .golden-rod;  it  was 

[  312  ] 


served  the  same  way  but  set  free  at  an  opposite 
point  from  the  first's  release;  this  second  flight 
was  also  closely  noted.  Some  twelve  of  the  tiny 


JUDGE  BAZIL  HARRISON  OF  KALAMAZOO,  MICHIGAN. 

The  original  of  Cooper's  "  Bee  Hunter." 

creatures  from  the  clover  and  daisies  were  like 
wise  treated,  until  the  general  direction  of  the 
flight  of  all  was  sure.  This  "  hiving  the  bees  " 
by  the  air-line  they  naturally  took  to  their  new 
home  proved  the  farmer  to  be  right,  for  an  old, 
half-charred  oak-stub,  some  forty  feet  high  and 
"  one  limb  aloft  was  their  lighting-place,  and 
there  they  were  buzzing  about  the  old  blighted 
bough."  The  farmer  then  went  to  his  boat  and 
brought  back  a  new  hive  and  placed  it  not  far 


from  the  old  oak;  he  put  honey  about  its  tiny 
doorway  and  strewed  many  flowers  around  it. 
With  the  sunset  his  bees  had  taken  possession  of 
their  new  home,  and  by  moonlight  they  were 
rowed  across  the  lake  and  placed  beside  the 
mother-swarm  in  the  farmer's  garden.  The 
author  placed  this  incident  in  i'ie  "Prairie 
Round"  of  "The  Oak  Openings.'  Its  Indian 
Peter  shows  how  Christian  influences  in  time  tri 
umph  over  revenge  —  the  deadliest  passion  of  the 
red-man's  heart.  On  New  Year's  Day,  1848, 
"  The  Oak  Openings  "  was  begun,  and  the  follow 
ing  spring  saw  it  finished.  This  note  appears  in 
the  author's  diary:  "  Saturday,  January  I,  1848. 
Read  St.  John.  No  church.  Weather  very  mild, 
though  snow  fell  in  the  night.  Walking  very  bad, 
and  I  paid  no  visits  outside  of  the  family.  Had 

at  dinner.    A  merry  evening  with  the  young 

people.  Played  chess  with  my  wife.  Wrote 
a  little  in  '  Oak  Openings '  to  begin  the  year 
with." 

Cooper  was  a  born  story-teller,  and  with  a  born 
sailor's  love  of  salt  water  could  not  for  long  keep 
from  spinning  tales  of  the  sea.  All  of  which  ac 
counts  for  spirited  and  original  "  Jack  Tier," 
which  came  from  his  pen  in  1848.  The  story  was 


called  at  first  "  Rose  Budd  "  —  the  name  of  the 
young  creature  who  is  one  of  its  important  char 
acters.  But  plain,  homely,  hard-working  "  Jack," 
under  a  sailor's  garb,  following  her  common 
place,  grasping  husband  the  world  over,  and  find 
ing  herself  in  woman's  gear  and  grief  by  his  side 
when  he  made  his  last  voyage  of  all  without  her 
—  it  is  she  who  had  earned  the  real  heroine's 
right  to  the  name  "  Jack  Tier."  It  is  a  story  of 
the  treacherous  reefs  off  Florida  and  the  deep 
waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

All  those  quiet  years  in  Cooperstown  the  author 
kept  pace  in  mind  and  interest  with  the  times, 
and  often  gave  expression  to  his  opinion  on  cur 
rent  events.  Of  General  Scott  in  Mexico  he 
wrote,  February  i,  1848:  "Has  not  Scott 
achieved  marvels!  The  gun-thunders  in  the 
valley  of  the  Aztecs  were  heard  in  echoes  across 
the  Atlantic."  Years  before  this  the  last  chapter 
of  "  The  Spy  "  paid  tribute  to  the  "  bravery  of 
Scott's  gallant  brigade"  in  1814,  at  Lundy's 
Lane,  not  far  from  Niagara.  That  Cooper 
strongly  condemned  Scott's  "  General  Order  "  is 
another  record  of  later  years. 

Reform  —  along  all  lines  of  service  —  was 
Cooper's  watchword;  his  home-cry,  first  and 


last,  was  to  "  build  up  our  navy !  "  And,  with 
his  knowledge  of  naval  affairs  and  accurate  es 
timate  of  seamen  of  all  grades,  what  an  admir 
able  secretary  of  our  navy  these  qualifications 
would  have  made  him!  His  political  instincts 
seemed  clear  and  unerring.  April  13,  1850,  he 
thought  "  Congress  a  prodigious  humbug;  Cal- 
houn's  attitude  another,"  as  was  also  Webster's 
answer,  which,  however,  had  "  capital  faults/' 
From  almost  a  seer  and  a  prophet  came  in  1850 
these  words :  "  We  are  on  the  eve  of  great 
events.  Every  week  knocks  a  link  out  of  the 
chain  of  the  Union."  This  was  written  to  a 
dear  and  valued  friend  of  South  Carolina,  to 
whom  a  few  months  later  he  further  wrote: 
'  The  Southerns  talk  of  fighting  Uncle  Sam,  — 
that  long-armed,  well-knuckled,  hard-fisted  old 
scamp,  Uncle  Sam."  And  among  the  dearest  of 
his  life-long  friends  stood  this  "  Southern  "  Com 
modore,  William  Branford  Shubrick.  Yet  in 
close  quarters,  "  he  would  rather  have  died  than 
lied  to  him."  His  standards  of  honesty  were  as 
rock-hewn;  and  his  words  on  his  friend  Law 
rence  perhaps  apply  as  aptly  to  himself:  "  There 
was  no  more  dodge  in  him  than  there  was  in 
the  mainmast." 


HON.  GERRIT  SMITH. 

During  some  years  prior  to  1850,  political  party 
issues  on  "  Anti-slavery,"  grew  from  mild  to  vio 
lent.  And  famous  in  the  annals  of  Cooperstown 
was  the  spirited  debate,  between  Air.  Cooper, 
for  colonization,  and  his  friend,  the  Hon.  Gerrit 
Smith,  for  immediate  abolition.  This  vital 
question  of  national  interest  was  given  able 
and  exhaustive  treatment  by  both  debaters 
who  spoke  several  hours  while  *  The  audi 
ence  listened  with  riveted  attention."  At  its 
close  the  two  gentlemen  walked  arm  in  arm 
to  the  "  Hall,"  Cooper's  home,  where  they  dined 
together. 

From  Mr.  Keese  comes  an  anecdote  of  Com 
modore  Shubrick's  visit  to  his  old  shipmate  at 
Cooperstown :  "  Mr.  Cooper  had  a  raw  Irishman 


in  his  employ,  as  a  man  of  all  work.  Sending 
him  to  the  post-office  one  day  for  the  mail,  he 
told  him  to  ask  if  there  were  any  letters  for 
Commodore  Shubrick.  Pat  came  to  the  window 
and  with  great  confidence  called  out,  '  Is  there 
any  letter  for  Commodore  Brickbat ?'  'Who?' 
said  the  astonished  postmaster.  The  name  was 
repeated.  A  villager  coming  in  at  that  time, 
the  postmaster  asked  him  if  he  knew  who 
was  visiting  Mr.  Cooper.  '  Commodore  Shu- 
brick/  was  the  reply.  'Ah,  that's  the  name!' 
said  Pat ;  '  and  sure,  did  n't  I  come  near  it, 
though ! '  " 

Possibly  the  sailing  of  Sir  John  Franklin  in 
1845  for  the  frozen  country  of  the  North  Star 
led  Fenimore  Cooper  to  write  "  The  Sea  Lions," 
in  the  winter  of  1849.  When  the  Highlands 
were  white,  and  its  tree-life  hoary  with  frost, 
the  author  could  pen  best  his  picture  of  a  voy 
age  to  the  ice-bergs,  rifts,  and  snow-drifts,  for 
which  his  two  schooners,  both  called  The  Sea 
Lion,  were  launched. 

In  the  early  years  of  his  married  life  Cooper 
made  many  visits  to  the  island  home  of  a  rela 
tive,  by  marriage,  who,  off  the  eastern  shore  of 
Long  Island,  led  a  half-sea  life  that  was  full 

[  318  ] 


of  attraction  for  the  young  sailor.  This  gentle 
man  only,  his  family  and  dependents,  lived  on 
Shelter  Island,  between  which  and  the  mainland 
all  coming  and  going  was  by  boat.  Here  they 
had  shooting,  fishing,  and  cruising  a-plenty. 
The  author's  thorough  knowledge  of  these 
waters  was  the  probable  reason  for  starting  his 
two  sealers  from  this  port  in  search  of  valu 
able  sealing-grounds  in  the  polar  seas.  The 
schooners  and  their  captains  were  American. 
One  of  the  sealers  was  owned  by  an  old,  hard- 
fisted  miser  of  Puritanic  pattern,  whose  sweet 
niece  Mary,  pretty  and  simply  good,  makes  the 


very  lovable  heroine  of  this  book.  Beneath  the 
low  porch  and  within  the  thrifty  garden  and 
great  orchard  of  her  island  home,  Mary's  heart 
had  been  captured  by  Roswell  Gardner,  the  dar 
ing  young  captain  of  her  uncle's  schooner  The 
Sea  Lion.  In  the  faith  of  the  Star  and  the 
Cross  the  young  girl  worshipped  with  strong 
and  childlike  piety,  while  her  lover  "  stood 
coldly  by  and  erect  with  covered  head,"  —  a 
doubter,  but  honestly  striving  to  find  his  bal 
ance.  Mary  prays  and  hopes  while  the  young 
man  sails  to  the  far-away  ice  land,  where,  ship 
wrecked  and  alone  with  his  Maker,  he  finds  the 
light  of  Truth  shining  for  him  on  the  far-away 
shores  of  his  frozen  hold.  Of  this  sea  tale  Pro 
fessor  Lounsbury  writes :  "  '  The  Sea  Lions  '  is 
certainly  one  of  the  most  remarkable  conceptions 
that  it  ever  entered  into  the  mind  of  a  novelist 
to  create."  And  he  adds:  "It  is  a  powerful 
story." 

"  Ways  of  the  Hour  "  came  from  Cooper's  pen 
in  1850.  The  purpose  of  this  story  was  to  attack 
trial  by  jury. 

From  the  time  of  Cooper's  friendship  with 
Charles  Mathews  in  the  early  i82o's,  he  had 
been  in  touch  with  the  stage,  and  in  June,  1850, 

[  320  ] 


CHARLES  MATIIEWS. 


JAMES  H.  HACKETT. 


he  mentions  writing  a  three-act  play  in  "  ridi 
cule  of  new  notions."  The  title  was  "  Upside 
Down;  or,  Philosophy  in  Petticoats"  -a  com 
edy.  Of  this  play  Cooper's  friend  Hackett,  the 
American  FalstafT  of  that  day,  wrote  him :  :'  I 
was  at  Burton's  its  first  night  and  saw  the  whole 
of  the  play.  The  first  act  told  well;  the  second, 
pretty  well,  but  grew  heavy;  the  third  dragged 
until  the  conclusion  surprised  the  attention  into 
warm  applause!' 

This  clever  but  not  over-successful  farce 
closed  the  literary  career  of  James  Fenimore 
Cooper. 

Of  Charles  Mathews,  the  peerless  comedy  ar- 
[  321  ] 


tist  of  England,  and  Fenimore  Cooper,  his 
old-time  friend,  Dr.  John  Wakefield  Francis 
wrote : 

'  During  a  memorable  excursion  made  to 
Albany  with  [the  actor]  Dunlap,  Mathews,  and 
Mr.  Cooper  in  the  spring  of  1823,  I  found  him 
abounding  in  dramatic  anecdotes  as  well  as  asso 
ciations  the  striking  scenery  of  the  Hudson 
brought  to  mind.  '  The  Spy '  was,  however, 
the  leading  subject  of  Mathews'  conversation. 
Cooper  unfolded  his  intention  of  writing  a  series 
of  works  illustrative  of  his  country,  revolutionary 
occurrences,  and  the  red  man  of  the  western 
world.  Mathews  expressed  in  strong  terms  the 
patriotic  benefits  of  such  an  undertaking,  and 
complimented  Cooper  on  the  specimen  already 
furnished  in  Harvey  Birch.  The  approbation  of 
Mathews  could  never  be  slightly  appreciated. 
There  was  little  of  flattery  in  him  at  any  time. 
He  was  a  sort  of  '  My  Lord  Lofty/  who  valued 
himself  in  pride  of  opinion.  Such  an  individual 
could  not  but  enlist  the  feelings  of  Mr.  Cooper. 
I  hardly  know  whether  I  have  ever  seen  Mr. 
Cooper  manifest  as  much  enthusiasm  with  any 
other  person  when  occasion  was  felicitous,  the 
subject  of  interest,  and  the  comedian  in  his  happy 

[  322  ] 


vein.  Dunlap,  were  he  speaking,  might  tell 
you  of  his  [Cooper's]  gratuities  to  the  unfor 
tunate  playwright  and  the  dramatic  performer." 
In  1832  William  Dunlap's  "  History  of  the 
American  Theatre  "  was  "  Dedicated  to  James 
Fenimore  Cooper  Esq.,  by  his  Friend,  the 
Author." 

It  was  in  this  year  of  1850  that  the  author's 
daughter,  Susan  Augusta,  had  her  "  Rural 
Hours  "  about  ready  to  print.  And  of  this  book 
her  father  wrote :  "  It  will  be  out  in  July. 
There  is  elegance,  purity,  knowledge,  and  grace 
about  it.  It  will  make  her  the  Cooper  at  once. 
Quite  puts  her  papa's  nose  out  of  joint."  More, 
concerning  this  book  and  New  York  City  of  that 
day,  appears  in  her  father's  letter  to  her  mother, 
written  in  that  city  at  the  Broadway  Hotel,  Sep 
tember  19,  1850. 

BROADWAY  HOTEL,  September  19,  1850. 

MY  BELOVED  S,  --The  post  office  is  sadly  out  of 
joint.  I  wrote  you  the  day  I  arrived  .  .  .  Right  and 
left  I  hear  of  "  Rural  Hours."  I  am  stopped  in  the 
street  a  dozen  times  a  day  to  congratulate  me.  The 
price  of  the  fine  edition  is  $7.00.  It  will  be  the  pres 
entation  volume  of  the  season.  I  can  see  that  Putnam 
expects  to  sell  some  eight  hundred  or  a  thousand  of 
them.  .  .  The  improvements  here  are  wonderful.  They 
build  chiefly  of  brown  freestone  and  noble  edifices  of 

[  323  ] 


five  and  six  stories  with  a  good  deal  of  architectural 
pretension  ...  I  sat  three  times  for  lithographs  yes 
terday  and  with  vastly  better  success  than  before.  The 
pictures  are  all  very  like  and  very  pleasing.  I  am  to 
have  one  which  will  fall  to  your  lot  as  a  matter  of 
course.  Your  letter  of  Tuesday  reached  me  this  morn 
ing.  You  ought  to  have  had  three  letters  from  me  by 
Tuesday  evening.  F.'s  [the  author's  daughter  Fran 
ces]  shawl  went  by  "  A."  I  suppose  it  is  a  courting 
shawl.  It  is  almost  the  only  one  of  the  kind  Stewart 
had  —  a  little  too  grave  perhaps  but  scarcely  so  for 
the  country.  Stewart  is  making  a  palace  of  a  store. 
He  takes  the  whole  front  of  the  block  on  Broadway 
with  fifteen  windows  in  front  —  and  all  of  marble. 
With  the  tenderest  regards  to  all,  I  remain  yours 
Most  affectionately,  J.  F.  C. 

Miss  Cooper  makes  alive  each  season's  charms, 
as  they  pass  over  the  Glimmerglass  and  wane  be- 


'jfMllilllllP 
MRMilll.tt 


STEWART'S  MARBLE  PALACE. 

[  324  i 


Miss  SUSAN  AUGUSTA  COOPER  ABOUT  1850. 


yond  Hannah's  Hill.  From  gentry  to  humble- 
folk,  real  Cooperstown  types  appear  and  disap 
pear  among  these  pages ;  and  even  the  "  half-a- 
dozen  stores  "  have  place,  where  "  at  the  same 
counter  you  may  buy  kid  gloves  and  a  spade;  a 
lace  veil  and  a  jug  of  molasses ;  a  satin  dress  and 
a  broom,"  among  other  things  of  even  greater 
variety.  She  tells  how  St.  Valentine's  Day  was 
celebrated  in  a  very  original  way  as  Vrouivcn- 
Daghe,  or  women's  day  of  the  old  Dutch  colo 
nists.  She  also  records  that  first  lake  party  to 
Point  Judith,  given  by  her  grandfather,  Judge 
Cooper,  in  August,  1799,  but  leaves  the  descrip 
tion  of  her  father's  lake  parties  to  Mr.  Keese: 
"  He  was  fond  of  picnic  excursions  on  the  lake, 
generally  to  the  Three  Mile  Point,  and  often 
with  a  party  of  gentlemen  to  Gravelly,  where 
the  main  treat  was  a  chowder,  which  their  host 
made  up  with  great  gusto.  He  could  also  brew  a 
bowl  of  punch  for  festive  occasions,  though  he 
himself  rarely  indulged  beyond  a  glass  of  wine 
for  dinner."  Concerning  these  festivities  Mr. 
Keese  adds:  "Lake  excursions  until  1840  were 
made  by  a  few  private  boats  or  the  heavy,  flat- 
bottomed  skiff  which  worthy  Dick  Case  kept 
moored  at  the  foot  of  Fair  Street.  But  Dick's 

[  327  ] 


joints  were  too  stiff  to  row  more  than  an  easy 
reach  from  the  village ;  to  the  Fairy  Spring  was 
the  usual  measure  of  his  strength.  The  Three 
Mile  Point  was  the  goal  of  the  best  oarsmen. 
Dick's  successor  in  the  thirties  was  an  ugly 
horse-boat  that  in  1840  gave  place  to  the  famous 
scow  of  Joe  Tom  and  his  men,  which  for  twenty 
years  took  picnic  parties  to  the  Point.  A  presi 
dent  of  our  country,  several  governors  of  the 
State,  and  Supreme  Court  judges  were  among 
these  distinguished  passengers.  Doing  such 
duty  the  scow  is  seen  in  the  1840  pictures  of 
Cooperstown.  No  picnic  of  his  day  was  com 
plete  without  famous  '  Joe  Tom/  who  had 
men  to  row  the  scow,  clean  the  fish,  stew 
potatoes,  make  coffee,  and  announce  the  meal. 
Rowing  back  in  the  gloaming  of  a  summer's 
night,  he  would  awake  the  echoes  of  Natty 
Bumppo's  Cave  for  the  pleasure  of  the  com 
pany."  At  times  a  second  echo  would  return 
from  Hannah's  Hill,  and  a  third  from  Mt. 
Vision. 

Between  the  lines  can  be  read  the  hearty  and 
cheery  author's  pleasure  in  all  this  merriment, 
yet,  none  the  less,  life's  shadows  exacted  full 
attention,  as  the  following  shows:  "  Cooper  took 

[  328  ] 


a  generous  and  active  part  in  sending  relief  to 
the  starving  people  of  Ireland;  for,  March  8, 
1847,  James  Fenimore  Cooper  heads  his  town 
committee,  and,  '  in  the  name  of  charity  and  in 
obedience  to  the  commands  of  God,'  he  urges 


JOE  TOM. 


NATTY'S  CAVE. 
[    329   ] 


an  appeal  '  from  house  to  house,   for  Food  is 
wanting  that  we  possess  in  abundance.'  ' 

"  Cooper  would  admit  of  no  denial  of  prin 
ciple  but  could  be  lenient  to  offenders.  One  day 
he  caught  a  man  stealing  fruit  from  his  garden. 
Instead  of  flying  into  a  passion,  he  told  him 
how  wrong  it  was  to  make  the  neighbors  think 
there  was  no  way  of  getting  his  fruit  but  by 
stealing  it,  and  bid  him  the  next  time  to  come 
in  at  the  gate  and  ask  for  it  like  a  true  man. 
Cooper  then  helped  him  to  fill  his  basket  and 
let  him  go."  The  author's  fine  fruit  trees  must 
have  been  tempting! 

One  day  while  walking  in  the  garden  with 
some  ladies,  Mr.  Cooper  led  the  way  to  a  tree 
well  laden  with  fine  apples.  Unable  to  reach 
them,  he  called  to  a  boy  in  the  street,  and  pre 
senting  him  to  his  friends  as  one  of  the  best 
boys  in  the  village,  —  one  who  never  disturbed 
his  fruit,  —  he  lifted  the  little  fellow  up  to  the 
branches  to  pick  apples  for  the  guests,  and  then 
filled  his  pockets  as  a  reward  for  his  honesty, 
and  promised  him  more  when  he  came  again. 
The  delighted  boy  waited  for  a  few  days  and 
then  repeated  his  visit  to  the  tree,  but  forgetting 
to  ask  permission.  Not  knowing  him  from  fre- 

[  330  ] 


OTSEGO  HALL  —  BACK  VIEW. 

quent  intruders,  Mr.  Cooper's  high  voice  from 
a  distance,  added  to  the  savage  barking  of  his 
watch-dog,  frightened  the  well-meaning  forager 
into  a  resolve  that  he  would  not  forget  the 
easier  way  next  time  of  first  asking  before 
picking. 

The  author's  genuine  interest  in  his  home 
town  folk  never  waned.  Among  the  many  and 
sincere  expressions  of  his  good-will  were  the 
free  lectures  he  gave  to  the  villagers.  His 


descriptions  of  naval  actions  were  full  of  vigor. 
On  the  blackboard  he  presented  fleets,  changing 
their  positions,  moving  ship  after  ship  as  the 
contest  went  on,  at  the  same  time  stating  the 
facts  in  history  and  using  his  cane  as  a  pointer. 
It  is  of  note  that  Mr.  Cooper's  personal  ap 
pearance  in  1850  was  remarkable.  He  seemed 
in  perfect  health  and  highest  energy  and  activ 
ity  of  faculties,  but  the  autumn  of  this  year 
found  him  in  New  York  City  under  mild  ail 
ments.  His  friend,  Mr.  George  Washington 
Green,  regretted  not  noting  better  his  last  talk 
with  the  author  about  this  time,  of  which  he 
says:  "He  excused  himself  that  morning  at 
Putnam's  for  not  rising  to  shake  hands.  '  My 
feet,'  said  he,  '  are  so  tender  that  I  do  not  like 
to  stand  longer  than  I  can  help.'  Yet  when  we 
walked  together  into  Broadway,  I  could  not  help 
turning  now  and  then  to  admire  his  command 
ing  figure  and  firm  bearing.  Sixty  years  seemed 
to  sit  lightly  on  him.  After  a  short  stroll  we 
went  to  his  room  at  the  Globe  and  sat  down  to 
talk.  I  never  found  him  so  free  upon  his  own 
works  and  literary  habits.  He  confessed  his 
partiality  for  Leatherstocking.  Said  he :  'I 
meant  to  have  added  one  more  scene  and  intro- 

r  332  ] 


. 


JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER. 

From  a  daguerreotype  by  Brady. 


THE  SWEDISH  NIGHTINGALE  ( JENNY  LIND). 

duced  him  in  the  Revolution,  but  I  thought  the 
public  had  had  enough  of  him,  and  never  ven 
tured  it.'  " 

Cooper's  enjoyment  of  the  marvelous  voice  of 
"  The  Swedish  Nightingale,"  as  Jenny  Lind  was 
called,  the  publication  of  his  daughter's  "  Rural 
Hours,"  and  the  active  progress  of  his  own  book 
sales  are  noted  in  his  letter  to  his  beloved  wife. 

BROADWAY  HOTEL,  Friday,  Nov.  15,  1850. 

MY  DEAREST  W.,  —  Julia  and  Miss  Thomas  came 
down  with  me  to  hear  Jenny  Lind.  "  Have  you  heard 

[  334  ] 


Jenny  Lind?  "  "  How  do  you  like  Jenny  Lind?  "  are 
the  questions  which  supplant  "  Fine  weather  to-day  " 
and  other  similar  comprehensive  remarks.  I  am  pa 
tiently  waiting  for  the  "  Lake  Gun  "  [a  magazine  ar 
ticle].  I  am  well  and  shall  commence  in  earnest  next 


JENNY  LIND  AT  CASTLE  GARDEN,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  1850. 


week.  Tell  Sue  [his  daughter]  I  have  seen  Putnam, 
who  will  be  delighted  to  publish  her  new  book.  "  Naval 
History  "  is  a  little  slack  for  the  moment.  There  are 
less  than  a  hundred  copies  of  second  edition  on  hand 
and  the  third  must  be  shortly  prepared.  The  fine  edi 
tion  will  be  published  to-morrow.  About  two  hundred 
copies  have  been  sent  to  the  trade  and  with  that  issue 
he  will  start.  He  has  had  five  and  twenty  copies  done 

up  in  papier  machia  at  $9.00.     N is  well.     D.  Z. 

[  335  ] 


is  still  here.  Old  Peter  is  not  yet  married,  but  the 
affair  is  postponed  until  Spring,  when  the  bride  and 
groom  will  return  to  America.  They  wish  to  pro 
long  the  delightful  delusion  of  courtship.  I  hope 
they  may  be  as  happy  as  we  have  been  and  love  each 
other  as  much  forty  -  -  days  after  their  union  as  we 

do  forty  years 

Yours 

J.  F.  C 

At  No.  i  Bond  Street  stood  the  old-time  man 
sion  of  Dr.  John  W.  Francis,  where  were  wel 
comed  many  eminent  in  arts  and  letters  at  home 
and  abroad,  and  where  their  host  wrote  his  "  Rem 
iniscences  of  Sixty  Years."  Here  it  was  that 
Cooper,  on  his  last  visit  to  New  York,  came 
seeking  aid  for  his  failing  health.  But  with 
December  the  author  returned  to  Cooperstown, 
whence  he  wrote  a  friend:  "I  have  gone  into 
dock  with  my  old  hulk,  to  be  overhauled. 
Francis  says  I  have  congestion,  and  I  must  live 
low,  deplete,  and  take  pills.  While  I  am  frozen, 
my  wife  tells  me  my  hands,  feet,  and  body  are 
absolutely  warm.  The  treatment  is  doing  good. 
You  cannot  imagine  the  old  lady's  delight  at 
getting  me  under,  in  the  way  of  food.  I  get  no 
meat,  or  next  to  none,  and  no  great  matter  in 
substitutes.  This  morning  being  Christmas,  I 

[  336  ] 


DR.  JOHN  W.  FRANCIS 

AND  His  HOME 
IN  NEW  YORK  CITY. 


had  a  blow-out  of  oysters,  and  at  dinner  it  will 
go  hard  if  I  do  not  get  a  cut  into  the  turkey. 
I  have  lost  pounds,  yet  I  feel  strong  and  clear 
headed.  I  have  had  a  narrow  escape,  if  I  have 
escaped." 

The  following  spring  Cooper  again  went  to 
New  York  City,  whence  he  dates  a  letter  to  his 
wife: 

Saturday,  March  29,  1851 
COLLEGE  HOTEL,  NEW  YORK 

Your  letter  of  Thursday  has  just  reached  me.  I 
am  decidedly  better.  —  Last  night  I  was  actually  dis 
sipated.  L.  —  came  for  me  in  a  carriage  and  carried 

[  337  ] 


me  off  almost  by  force  to  Doctor  Bellows,  where  I 
met  the  Sketch  Club,  some  forty  people,  many  of 
whom  I  knew.  I  stayed  until  past  ten,  ate  a  water 
ice,  talked  a  great  deal,  returned,  went  to  bed  fatigued 
and  slept  it  off.  —  My  friends  are  very  attentive  to  me, 
they  all  seem  glad  to  see  me  and  think  I  am  improv 
ing,  as  I  certainly  am.  ...  I  shall  come  home  shortly. 
—  I  want  to  be  in  my  garden  and  I  wish  to  be  in  your 
dear  hands,  love,  for  though  you  know  nothing  you 
do  a  great  deal  that  is  right.  Last  evening  I  passed 
with  Charlotte  M.  —  who  \vanted  to  take  me  home 

to  nurse  me.     There  is  no  chance  of  seeing  S. . 

Adieu,  my  love My  blessing  on  the  girls 

—  all  four  of  them. 

J.  F.  C. 

In  April,  1851,  the  poet  Bryant  wrote  of  him: 
"  Cooper  is  in  town,  in  ill  health.  When  I  saw 
him  last  he  was  in  high  health  and  excellent 
spirits."  These  spirits  were  not  dashed  by  the 
progressing  malady  that  took  him  home  to 
Cooperstown.  Not  realizing  what  illness  meant, 
he  bravely  accepted  what  it  brought,  —  the  need 
to  dictate  the  later  parts  of  his  "  History  of  the 
United  States  Navy,"  and  the  "  Towns  of  Man 
hattan,"  when  he  himself  could  no  longer  write. 
The  latter  was  planned,  partly  written,  and  in 
press  at  the  time  of  his  death.  That  which  was 
printed  was  burnt,  the  manuscript  in  part  res- 

[  338] 


cued,  and  finished  by  the  pen  of  one  of  the 
family. 

It  was  Fenimore  Cooper's  happiness  to  be 
blessed  with  a  family  whose  greatest  pleasure 
was  to  supply  his  every  needed  comfort;  and 
one  of  his  daughters  was  ever  a  companion  in 
his  pursuits,  the  wise  and  willing  writer  of  his 
letters  and  dictations,  and  the  most  loving,  never- 
tiring  nurse  of  his  latter  days.  Of  these  last 
months  there  is  a  pretty  child-record  by  a  friend 
who,  "  entering  without  notice,"  one  day  saw 
Mr.  Cooper  "  lying  at  full  length  on  the  parlor 
floor,  with  a  basket  of  cherries  by  his  side. 
Upon  his  chest,  vainly  trying  to  bestride  the 
portly  form,  sat  his  little  grandson,  to  whom  he 
passed  cherries,  and  who,  in  turn,  with  childish 
glee,  was  dropping  them,  one  by  one,  into  his 
grandfather's  mouth.  The  smiles  that  played 
over  the  features  of  child  and  man  during  this 
sweet  and  gentle  dalliance  were  something  not 
easily  forgotten.  A  few  months  after  this  both 
child  and  man  had  passed  beyond  '  the  smiling ' ; 
aye,  and  '  the  weeping,'  too." 

Letters  from  Cooperstown  led  Dr.  Francis  to 
go  there  August  27,  1851,  to  see  his  esteemed 
friend  in  his  own  home.  And  of  Cooper  the 

[  339  ] 


Doctor  wrote :  "I  explained  to  him  the  nature 
of  his  malady--  frankly  assured  him  that  within 
the  limits  of  a  week  a  change  was  indispensable 
to  lessen  our  forebodings  of  its  ungovernable  na 
ture.  He  listened  with  fixed  attention. -- Not  a 
murmur  escaped  his  lips.  Never  was  information 
of  so  grave  a  cast  received  by  any  individual  in  a 
calmer  spirit." 

So  passed  the  summer  days  of  1851  with  the 
author,  near  his  little  lake,  the  Glimmerglass, 
and  its  Mt.  Vision,  when  one  mid-September 
Sunday  afternoon,  with  his  soul's  high  standard 
of  right  and  truth  undimmed,  James  Fenimore 
Cooper  crossed  the  bar. 

While  from  youth  Cooper  was  a  reverent  fol 
lower  of  the  Christian  faith,  his  religious  na 
ture  deepened  with  added  years.  Eternal  truth 
grew  in  his  heart  and  mind  as  he,  in  time, 
learned  to  look  above  and  beyond  this  world's 
sorrows  and  failures.  In  July,  1851,  he  was 
confirmed  in  Christ's  Church,  —  the  little  parish 
church  just  over  the  way  from  the  old-Hall 
home,  whose  interests  he  had  faithfully  and 
generously  served  as  sometime  warden  and 
as  vestryman  since  1834.  Of  one  such  service 
Mr.  Keese  writes  that  in  1840  the  original 

[  340  ] 


Christ's  Church  of  Cooperstown  underwent  im 
portant  alterations.  Its  entire  interior  was  re 
moved  and  replaced  by  native  oak.  As  vestry 
man  Mr.  Cooper  was  prime  mover  and  chairman 
of  the  committee  of  change,  and  hearing  of  the 
chancel  screen  in  the  old  Johnstown  church,  first 
built  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  he  took  a  carpen 
ter  and  went  there  to  have  drawings  made  of 
this  white-painted  pine  screen,  which  at  his  own 
expense  he  had  reproduced  with  fine,  ornamental 
effect  in  oak,  and  made  it  a  gift  to  Christ's 
Church.  It  was  removed  from  Christ's  Church 
about  1891,  badly  broken  and  abandoned.  This 


CHRIST'S  CHURCH,  COOPERSTOWN,  N.  Y. 

[  341  ] 


so  disturbed  Cooper's  daughters  that  his  grand 
son,  James   Fenimore   Cooper  of   Albany,   New 
York,  had  the  pieces  collected,  and  stored  them 
for  using  in  his  Cooperstown  home ;    but  he  - 
by  request  of  the  Reverend  Mr.  Birdsall  —  had 


FENIMORE  COOPER'S  SCREEN  GIFT. 

them  made  into  two  screens  for  the  aisles  of  the 
church,  where  they  were  erected  as  a  memorial  to 
his  father,  Paul  Fenimore,  and  his  great-grand 
father,  Judge  William  Cooper.  Mr.  Keese's 
words,  dating  January,  1910,  are: 

"  And  now  comes  in  a  rather  singular  dis 
covery  made  by  the  writer  a  few  days  ago:  In 
looking  over  a  book  in  my  library,  published 

[  342  J 


about  ninety  years  ago,  there  is  an  article  on 
Newstead  Abbey,  Nottinghamshire,  England, 
with  a  steel  engraving  of  the  front  of  the  Abbey, 
which  is  almost  identical  with  the  design  of  the 
original  screen  in  Christ  Church.  Who  was 
responsible  for  transplanting  the  same  to  this 
country  appears  to  be  unknown,  but  the  fact 
is  interesting  in  that  Newstead  Abbey  was 
the  home  of  the  Byron  family  and  that  of  Lord 
Byron." 

In  a  letter  of  April  22,  1840,  to  H.  Bleeker, 
Esq.,  Cooper  wrote  of  this  screen:  "  I  have  just 
been  revolutionizing  Christ's  Church,  Coopers- 
town,  not  turning  out  a  vestry  but  converting 
its  pine  interior  into  oak  —  bona  fide  oak,  and 
erecting  a  screen  that  I  trust,  though  it  may  have 
no  influence  on  my  soul,  will  carry  my  name 
down  to  posterity.  It  is  really  a  pretty  thing  - 
pure  Gothic,  and  is  the  wonder  of  the  country 
round." 

Of  Cooper  himself  was  said:  "Thus  step  by 
step  his  feet  were  guided  into  the  ways  of 
peace/'  It  was  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church  that  his  wife's  brother,  William  Heath- 
cote  de  Lancey  —  a  genius  of  goodness  —  was 
bishop. 

[  343  J 


A  beautiful,  tender,  and  touching  tribute  to 
the  love  of  his  life  was  Fenimore  Cooper's  will. 
In  part  it  reads :  "I,  James  Fenimore  Cooper, 
give  and  bequeath  to  my  wife,  Susan  Augusta, 


BISHOP  WILLIAM  HEATHCOTE  DE  LANCEY. 

all  my  property,  whether  personal  or  mixed, 
to  be  enjoyed  by  her  and  her  heirs  forever. 
I  make  my  said  wife  the  executrix  of  my 
will." 

In  a  little  over  four  months  his  wife 
followed  him  to  the  far  country.  Of  his  chil 
dren,  Elizabeth,  the  first-born,  died  in  infancy; 
Susan  Augusta,  the  author,  was  the  second; 
the  third,  Caroline  Martha,  became  Mrs.  Henry 
Frederick  Phinney;  next  came  Anne  Charlotte, 
then  Maria  Frances,  who  married  Richard 

L  344  ] 


Cooper;  Fenimore,  the  first  son,  they  lost  in 
babyhood,  and  Paul  Fenimore,  the  youngest, 
became  a  member  of  the  bar  in  Albany,  New 
York. 


THE  DE  LANCEY  ARMS. 

Cooper  left  his  family  a  competency,  but  the 
Hall  home  soon  passed  into  other  hands;  later 
it  was  burnt.  From  rescued  brick  an  attractive 
house  was  built  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna  for  his  daughters  Susan  Augusta  and 
Anne  Charlotte,  both  now  resting  near  father  and 
mother  in  Christ's  Church  yard.  Their  niece, 
Miss  Susan  Augusta  Cooper,  daughter  of  their 
sister,  Maria  Frances,  Mrs.  Richard  Cooper, 
now  lives  in  this  picturesque  house,  and 
there  she  reverently  treasures  many  personal 

[  345  ] 


THE  NEW  HOME  AND  THE  OLD  HOME. 


belongings  of  her  famous  grandfather,  and 
also  those  of  her  author-aunt,  Susan  Augusta 
Cooper,  whose  best  memorial,  however,  is  the 
noble  orphanage  on  the  river-bank  some  ways 
below.  The  oaken  doors  saved  from  the 
flames  of  the  burning  Hall  served  for  this  new 


V 


INDIAN  HUNTER. 

home,  which  overlooked  the  grounds  of  their 
old  home.  The  site  of  the  latter  is  marked  by 
Ward's  "  Indian  Hunter."  Aptly  placed,  peering 
through  mists  of  green  toward  the  author's 
church-yard  grave,  he  is  a  most  fitting  guardian 
of  the  one-time  garden  of  Fenimore  Cooper. 

[  347  J 


lii 


By  the  generosity  of  the  late  Mrs.  Henry 
Codman  Potter,  this  hunter's  domain  has  been 
transformed  into  beautiful  "  Cooper  Grounds  "  ; 
and  here  the  red-man  of  bronze  keeps  ward  and 
watch  over  memories  that  enshrine  the  genius  of 
a  noble  soul  whose  records  of  this  vanishing  race 
are  for  all  time. 

A  gentleman  just  from  continental  Europe  in 
1851  said  of  people  there:  "  They  are  all  read 
ing  Cooper."  A  traveler,  returned  from  Italy 
about  that  time,  wrote :  "I  found  all  they  knew 
of  America  —  and  that  was  not  a  little  —  they 
had  learned  from  Cooper's  novels."  When  an 
eminent  physician  who  was  called  to  attend  some 
German  immigrants  asked  how  they  knew  so 
much  of  their  new-home  country,  they  replied: 
'  We  learned  it  all  from  Cooper.  We  have  four 
translations  of  his  works  in  German,  and  we 
all  read  them."  February  22,  1852,  Charles 
G.  Leland  of  Philadelphia  wrote  of  Cooper's 
works :  k  There  were  several  translations  issued 
at  Frankfort,  Germany,  in  1824,  in  two  hundred 
and  fifty  parts,  a  second  large  edition  in  1834, 
and  a  third  in  1851.  All  his  works,  more  than 
Scott  and  Shakespeare,  are  household  words  to 
the  German  people."  Library  records  of  to-day 

[  349  ] 


show  no  waning  of  this  early  popularity  of 
the  "  Leatherstocking  Tales  "  and  "  Sea  Stories  " 
of  Feniinore  Cooper.  In  1883  Victor  Hugo 
told  General  Wilson  that  excepting  the  authors 
of  France,  "  Cooper  was  the  greatest  novel 
ist  of  the  century."  It  was  Balzac  who 
said:  "If  Cooper  had  succeeded  in  the 
painting  of  character  to  the  same  extent  that 
he  did  in  the  painting  the  phenomena  of 
nature,  he  would  have  uttered  the  last  word  of 
our  art." 

From  Hanau-on-Main,  Germany,  January, 
1912,  Herr  Rudolf  Drescher  writes:  "Within 
two  years  two  new  translations  of  Cooper's  com 
plete  works  have  been  issued.  One  at  Berlin, 
the  other  at  Leipsic.  180  pictures  hy  the 
artist  Max  Slevogt  held  one  edition  at 
$192,  the  other  with  less  pictures  was  $60, 
and  both  were  sold.  Cheaper  editions  with 
out  pictures  also  met  with  large  sales.  I  pos 
sess  an  1826,  German  copy  of  *  The  Pio 
neers.'  "  Another  record  is,  Cooper's  works 
have  been  seen  "  in  thirty  different  countries, 
in  the  languages  of  Finland,  Turkey  and  Persia, 
in  Constantinople,  in  Egypt,  at  Jerusalem,  at 
Ispahan." 

[  35o] 


The  author's  literary  cruise,  dating  back  three 
years  before  the  launching  of  "  The  Pilot  "  in 
1823,  was  a  long  one.  And  no  admiral  of  mor 
tal  fame  ever  led  so  sturdy  and  motley  a  fleet  - 
from  the  proud  man-of-war  to  the  light  felucca, 
gondola,  and  bark-canoe  —  over  ocean  and  in 
land  waters.  With  visions  of  forests,  its  mov 
ing  spirit  and  skilful  pilot  still  stands  at  the 
helm,  the  full  light  of  the  ages  upon  "  eye,  arm, 
sail,  spar,  and  flag."  Thus  is  Fenimore  Cooper 
firmly  anchored  in  the  mind  and  heart  of  pos 
terity  as  the  creator  of  American  romance. 

August,  1907,  "  Historic  Cooperstown  "  held 
her  Memorial  Celebration.  Her  founder,  Judge 
William  Cooper,  his  hardy  pioneers,  and  the 
"  memory  of  one  whose  genius  had  given  her 
Glimmerglass  country  world-wide  fame,"  were 
honored  with  world-wide  tributes.  Among  these 
were  addresses,  heartfelt,  and  able,  from  the 
late  Bishop  Henry  Codman  Potter,  on  "  The 
Religious  Future  " ;  Francis  Whiting  Halsey,  on 
"  The  Headwaters  of  the  Susquehanna  " ;  George 
Pomeroy  Keese,  on  "  Early  Days  of  Coopers- 
town,"  and  James  Fenimore  Cooper  of  Albany, 
New  York,  on  his  great-grandfather  "  William 
Cooper." 


From  "  The  Cooper stown  Centennial  "  one 
learns  that  at  five  o'clock  on  Wednesday  after 
noon  of  August  7  many  people  were  reverently 
taking  part  in  solemn  services  around  the  grave 
of  James  Fenimore  Cooper  and  beneath  the  glint 
ing  tree-shadows  of  Christ's  Church  yard.  The 
service  began  with  a  procession  of  young  girls 
in  w7hite  surrounding  the  author's  last  resting- 
place,  where  verses  on  Cooper  were  recited  by 
Miss  Wilkinson;  then  the  little  folk  sang  the 
lyric  tribute  of  Mr.  Saxton: 

O,  great  magician,  may  the  life 
We  lead  be  such  a  one  as  thine  - 

A  simple  life,  transcending  art, 

A  spirit  close  to  Nature's  heart, 

A  soul  as  strong  and  clear,  and  fine. 


THE  CHILDREN'S  TRIBUTE. 

[  352  ] 


After  singing,  the  children,  gathering  around, 
covered  the  marble  slab  with  their  tributes  - 
the  flowers  of  the  season.  Some  poetic  pictures 
in  blank  verse  were  given  of  Cooper's  works, 
by  the  Reverend  Dr.  W.  W.  Battershall  of 
St.  Peter's  Church  in  Albany,  New  York,  the 
present  rector,  and  successor  of  Doctor  Ellison, 
Cooper's  boyhood  instructor.  Then  the  Rev. 
Ralph  Birdsall,  rector  of  the  author's  "  little 
parish  church,"  spoke  of  Fenimore  Cooper's 
church-yard  home:  "A  marble  slab  that  bears 
no  praise  for  fame  or  virtue;  only  a  simple 
cross,  symbol  of  the  faith  in  which  he  lived  and 
died,  and  upon  which  he  based  his  hopes  of 
immortality."  The  soldier  lying  near,  brought 
from  the  field  of  honor;  the  author's  old  neigh 
bors,  who  exchanged  with  him  in  life  the  friendly 
nod;  hands  that  were  calloused  with  the  axe  and 
shovel,  and  Judge  Temple's  aged  slave  in  narrow 
home  —  all  sleeping  beneath  the  same  sward  and 
glancing  shadows  are  not  less  honored  now  than 
is  the  plain,  unpolished  slab  of  stone,  bearing 
two  dates,  —  of  birth  and  entrance  into  the  life 
eternal  of  James  Fenimore  Cooper. 

On  his  airy  height  of  the  "  Cooper  Memorial," 
gleaming  white  through  the  lakewood  slope  of 

[  353  J 


Mt.  Vision,  wondrous  Leatherstocking  stands, 
a  rare  tribute  to  simple,  uplifting  goodness. 
Clad  in  his  hunting-shirt,  deerskin  cap,  and 
leggings,  his  powder-horn  and  bullet-pouch 
swung  over  his  shoulder,  his  dog  Hector  at  his 
feet,  looking  up  with  speaking  expression 
into  the  fine,  wise,  honest  face  of  his  master, 
stands  Natty,  gazing  over  all  the  lake  he  loved 
so  well. 


LAKE  OTSEGO. 

— o'er  no  sweeter  lake 
Shall  morning  break  or  noon-cloud  sail; 
No  fairer  face  than  thine  shall  take 
The  sunset's  golden  veil. 

J.  G.  WHITTIER. 

t  354  ] 


"  Cooper  had  no  pred 
ecessor    and    no    succes 
sor  in  his  own  field  of  fic 
tion  ;    he  stood  alone,  - 
he  was   a  creator,   and 
his   '  Natty  '  will   stand 
forever  as  the  most  orig 
inal    of   pioneer   charac 
ters,"   wrote   Henry   M. 
Alden. 

With  Rev.  Mr.  P>ird- 
sall,  many  think  the  time 
has  come  when  the  fame 
of  Fenimore  Cooper  de 
mands  a  world-given  me 
morial  in  Cooperstown. 
A  lifelike  statue  from 
an  artist's  chisel  should 
show  the  '  *  prose  poet 
of  the  silent  woods 
and  stormy  seas  '  seated, 
pen  in  hand,  gazing 

dreamily  for  inspiration  over  the  Glimmerglass, 
where  the  phantom  creatures  of  his  genius 
brood."  Let  it  stand,  a  new-world  literary 
shrine,  in  the  square  fronting  the  old-Hall- 

[  355  1 


LEATHERSTOCKING. 


home  site,  which  northward  commands  a  sweep 
ing  view7  of  his  "  little  lake  "  and  a  side  glimpse 
of  lofty  Leatherstocking  of  the  tree-tops  —  not 
far  away. 


LEATHERSTOCKING  MONUMENT. 

And  strewn  the  flowers  of  memory  here. 
For  one  whose  fingers,  years  ago, 

Their  work  well  finished,  dropped  the  pen ; 
Whose  master  mind  from  land  to  sea 
Drew  forms  heroic,  long  to  he 

The  living  types  of  vanished  men. 

A.  B.  SAXTON. 


[  35*  1 


3fn  jHemortam 

GEORGE  POMEROY  KEESE 

ON  April  22,  1910,  and  at  the  home  of  his 
son,  Theodore  Keese,  in  New  York  City,  came 
the  Spirit-Land  call  to  the  late  George  Pomeroy 
Keese.  It  was  also  in  New  York  City  that  he 
was  horn,  on  January  14,  1828.  His  parents 
were  Theodore  Keese  and  Georgiann  Pomeroy, 
niece  of  James  Fenimore  Cooper.  This  grand- 
nephew  of  the  author  enjoyed  four  score  and 
more  of  full,  active  years,  mostly  spent  in 
Cooperstown,  N.  Y.,  and  he  gave  of  them  gen 
erously  in  serving  the  welfare  and  interests  of 
that  village.  There  Edge  water,  Mr.  Reese's 
attractive  home,  overlooks,  from  the  south,  the 
entire  length  and  beauty  of  Lake  Otsego,  whose 
waters  and  banks  are  haunted  by  Cooper's 
creations. 

From  Mr.  Keese  is  quoted: 

"  George  Pomeroy  of  Northampton,  Mass., 
came  to  Cooperstown  among  the  early  settlers 
in  1801.  He  married  the  only  living  sister  of 
Fenimore  Cooper  in  1803. 

"  His  ancestry  dates  back  to  the  coming  of 
William  the  Conqueror  from  Normandy  in  1066. 

[  357  ] 


' 


At  this  time  Ralph  de  Pomeroy  accompanied  the 
Norman  duke  to  England  and  rendered  him  such 
valuable  assistance  that  he  received  from  him  no 
fewer  than  fifty-eight  lordships  in  Devonshire  as 
a  reward  for  his  services.  Selecting  a  favorable 
site,  not  far  from  the  banks  of  the  river  Dart, 
Ralph  de  Pomeroy  erected  thereon  the  celebrated 
stronghold  that  now  bears  the  family  name  of 
Berry- Pomeroy  Castle,  the  stately  ruins  of  which 
are  still  visited  as  one  of  the  most  picturesque 
objects  of  interest  in  the  county  of  Devon. 

"  The  descendants  of  the  founder  of  Berry- 
Pomeroy  retained  the  lands  belonging  to  their 
ancestral  home  until  the  time  cf  Edward  VI, 
when  at  the  period  of  the  rebellion  of  that  date 
they  were  seized  by  the  crown  and  bestowed  upon 
the  haughty  Lord  Protector  Somerset  in  whose 
family  they  still  remain." 

October  10,  1849,  Mr.  Keese  married  Caroline 
Adriance  Foote,  daughter  of  Surgeon  Lyman 
Foote,  U.S.A.,  who,  with  seven  of  their  chil 
dren,  survives  her  husband.  From  childhood 
Mrs.  Keese  well  knew  Fenimore  Cooper. 

From  his  tender  years  to  the  age  of  twenty- 
four  Mr.  Keese  lived  in  close  touch  with  the 
author  until  his  death  in  1851.  Afterwards  such 
near  association,  affection  and  ability  made  Mr. 
Keese  a  veritable  stronghold  of  authentic  values 
concerning  this  grand-uncle.  After  his  five  years 

[  359  1 


of  patient,  careful  direction  given  to  the  prepa 
ration  of  this  personal  life  of  James  Fenimore 
Cooper,  the  spirit  of  George  Pomeroy  Keese 
passed  to  the  Land  of  Everlasting  Light. 

As  a  traveled,  scholarly,  wise,  and  gentle  man, 
Mr.  Keese  kept  in  live  pace  with  current  events, 
and  he  possessed  that  strong,  rare  quality  of 
character  which  "  says  little  and  does  much,"  and 
compels  esteem  and  devotion  from  all  human 
kind. 

Amongst  Mr.  Keese' s  various  writings  is  "  The 
Historic  Records  of  Christ's  Church,  Coopers- 
town,  N.  Y."  The  rector,  Reverend  Ralph 
Birdsall,  has  written  of  its  author:  "  At  the 
altar  of  Christ's  Church  abides  the  secret  that 
made  Mr.  Keese  a  man  so  widely  honored  and 

beloved." 

MARY  E.  PHILLIPS. 


RUINS    OF   BERRY-POMEROY    CASTLE,  1825 


INDEX 


INDEX 


"  Afloat  and  Ashore,"  305. 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  4,  8,  27-31,  38, 

62,  104,  120,  123,  345. 
Alclen,  Henry  M.,  355. 
Allen,  James,  34-35. 
"  American     Democrat,     The," 

2/2. 

d' Angers,    Pierre   Jean    David, 

144-146. 
"  Autobiography    of    a    Pocket 

Handkerchief,  The,"  293. 

Baillie,  Joanna,  183. 
Balzac,  60,  276,  278,  350. 
Bancker,  Richard,  Mrs.  (Sarah 

Duyckinck),  88-89. 
Bancroft,  George,  117. 
Barnstable,  43. 
Battershall,  W.  W.,  353- 
Belgium,  184,  244-247. 
Bella  Genovese,  the,  290-293. 
Benedict,  Mrs.  Clare,  22-23. 
Benjamin,  Park,  273,  275. 
Beranger,  151. 
de  Berri,  Duchesse,  153. 
Birdsall,    Rev.    Ralph,   86,   342, 

353-355- 

Bleeker,  H.,  343. 
Bonaparte,   Princess  Charlotte, 

205. 
Bonaparte,     Madame     Letizia, 

205,  293. 
Bonaparte,  Napoleon  I,  44,  137, 

192,  244,  292. 
Bonaparte,      Napoleon      Louis, 

Count   St.   Leu,  204-205, 

207. 
Booth,  Junius  Brutus,  90. 


Box,  Newport,  159. 

"  Bravo,  The,"  225-229,  259. 

Bread  and  Cheese  Club,  95-96, 

185. 

Bryant,  Julia,  301-302. 
Bryant,  W.  C,  84,  105,  110-113, 

128,  238,  278,  338. 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  52-56. 
Burlington,  N.  J.,  xii,  i,  2,  8,  60. 

Canning,  George,  139. 

Case,  Dick,  327-328. 

Cave,  Harvey  Birch's,  81. 

"  Chainbearer,  The,"  307-308. 

Champlain,  Lake,  60. 

Charles  X  of  France,  153,  234. 

Chauncey,  Capt.  Isaac,   138. 

Chauntry,  Sir  Francis,  174- 
176. 

Clay,  Henry,  131. 

Clinton,  De  Witt,  75. 

Clinton,  Gen.  James,  104. 

Cole,  Thomas,  278. 

Coleridge,  Samuel  Taylor,  183. 

Columbus,  281-282. 

Cooper,  Ann,  Cooper's  sister. 
See  Mrs.  Geo.  Pomeroy. 

Cooper,  Anne  Charlotte,  daugh 
ter,  1 6,  344-345. 

Cooper,  Caroline  Martha,  344. 

Cooper,  Elizabeth,  daughter, 
71-72,  344. 

Cooper,  Elizabeth  Fenimore, 
mother,  2,  3,  64,  71-73. 

Cooper,  Fenimore,  son,  88,  mo. 

345- 

Cooper,  Hannah,  sister,  13-19. 
Cooper,  Isaac,  brother,  20,  72- 


[  363  ] 


Cooper,      James,      great-great 
grandfather,  2. 

Cooper,  James  Fenimore. 
Accuracy,  106,  109,  115-118, 
123,  127,  277,  282,  288- 
29x5;  ancestry,  2-4;  birth, 
i ;  boyhood,  12,  13,  19, 
23-35»  39;  courage,  259, 
273,  308;  death,  340; 
honors,  public,  99,  m- 
112,  114,  131,  192,  281; 
prices  of  works,  276-277, 
350;  industry,  43,  114; 
generosity,  57,  105-106, 
219,  329>  332;  screen  gift, 
340-343 ;  love  of  art,  198, 
203,  239-240 ;  marriage, 
68;  name,  change  of,  2, 
119-120;  naval  officer, 
53-70;  patriotism,  64,  79, 
185,  232,  243,  258-260, 
273;  personality,  12,  49, 
in-112,  149-152,  259, 
267,  269,  280-281.  Por 
traits  :  bust  by  d'Angers, 
145;  bust  by  Greenough, 
198-200 ;  daguerreotype 
by  Brady,  279,  333 ;  in  oil 
by  Jarvis,  91,  146;  in  oil 
by  Madame  de  Mirbel, 
143  ;  Paris  dr  awing 
(1827),  148;  Yale  silhou 
ette,  39;  sailor,  the,  42- 
48 ;  translations  of  works, 

Cooper,  James  Fenimore, 
grandson,  x,  3-5,  342, 

351- 

Cooper,  Maria  Frances,  daugh 
ter,  324,  342-345. 

Cooper,  Paul  Fenimore,  son, 
loo,  214,  216-217,  243, 

342,    345- 
Cooper,      Richard      Fenimore, 

brother,  20,  26,  62,  72. 
Cooper,      Richard      Fenimore, 

nephew,  344,  345- 
Cooper,   Susan   Augusta,   wife, 

63-65,  68,  71-72,  77,  98, 


124-125,  132,  146-147, 
154,  165-166,  247,  250, 
264,  268,  314,  323-324, 
334-338,  343-344- 

Cooper,  Susan  Augusta,  daugh 
ter,  13,  54,  71,  139,  142, 
220,  243,  265,  268,  282, 
314.  323-327,  334-335, 
344-345,  347. 

Cooper,  Susan  Augusta,  grand 
daughter,  345,  347. 

Cooper,  William,  father,  2,  4- 
11,  1 6,  34,  36,  42,  53, 
62,  101,  103,  112,  342, 

351- 
Cooper,  William,  nephew,  142, 

193- 

Cooperstown,  N.  Y.,  xi,  15,  33, 

69,  71,  274,  296-299,  315, 

317,    328,    336,    338-348, 

351-354. 

Chalet    Farm,    296-299,    311- 

3H,  327. 

"  Chronicles  of,"  34,  102. 
Fenimore  Farm  home,  71-72. 
Manor,  The,  8,  9,  103. 
Otsego    Hall,   8,    9,    16,    100, 
261-265,    300,    317,    340, 
345-347. 

Otsego   Lake,  4,  5,  6,   18-21, 

27-28,   71,    104,  261,   265, 

276,    282-286,    296,    324- 

328,    340,    356. 

Three-Mile     Point,    270-272, 

327-328. 

Cory,    Master   Oliver,   23-25. 
"  Crater,  The,"  308-309. 
Croghan,  Geo.,  xii. 
Crosby,  Enoch,  80,  86. 

Dana,  Richard  Henry,  96,  in, 

201. 
"  Deerslayer,     The,"     5,     282- 

286. 

DeKay,  James  E.,  93,  95- 
Drake,  Joseph  Rodman,  92-93. 
Drescher,  Rudolf,  350. 
Dunlap,  William,  322-323. 
Dwight,  Timothy,  36,  37- 


[    364   ] 


Edinburgh  Review,  The,   no. 
Elba,  291-293. 
Elliott,  Jesse  D.,  287-289. 
Ellison,  Dr.  Thomas,  28-33,  35, 

353- 
England,    2,    44,    ill,    115-118, 

169-1/2,  277,  305. 
Erie,  Lake,  Battle  of,  293-294, 

306. 
"  Excursions  in  Italy,"  210. 

Fenimore,  Elizabeth.    See  Mrs. 

Wm.  Cooper. 

Fenimore,  Richard,  2,  262. 
Fenimore  box,  3. 
Florence,  Palazzo  Ricasoli,  197- 

198. 
Florence,      Villa      St.      Illario, 

206-208. 

Floyd,  Elizabeth,  67. 
Floyd,  Col.   Richard,  67. 
France,   135,   157,   168-169,  228, 

237,  243. 
Francis,    Dr.    J.    W.,    185,   278, 

322,  336-337,  339-340. 
Frey,  Heinrick,  n,  12. 

Galitzin,       Princess,       139-140, 

164-166. 

Gelsomina,  226-228. 
George,  Lake,  120,  125-126. 
Germany,    228,    247,    251,    253- 

255,  349-350. 
Gibraltar,  46. 
"  Gleanings    in    Europe,"    236, 

270. 

Glens  Fall,  122-124. 
Goodrich,  A.  T.,  78. 
Graham's  Magazine,  287,  293, 

305,   308. 

Greeley,  Horace,  273,  275. 
Green,  Geo.  Washington,   149- 

152,   332. 
Greenough,    Horatio,    198-203, 

268. 
Grey,  Charles,  Earl,  181. 


Hackett,  James  H.,  321. 
Hall,  J.   E.,  84. 


Hall,  Mrs.   Sarah,  84. 
Halleck,    Fitz-Greene,    90,    92- 

93,    95- 

Halsey,  Francis  Whiting,  351. 
Harrison,  Judge  Bazil,  313. 
Harrison,  William  Henry,   14- 

16. 

"  Headsman,  The,"  257. 
Heathcote,  Hon.  Caleb,  66. 
Heidelberg  and  Castle,  253-254. 
"  Heidenmauer,  The,"  252. 
Hell  Gate,  100,  124,  176,  307. 
Holland,   180,  183-184. 
Holland   House,  45,   177-180. 
Holland,  Lady,  176,  180. 
Holland,  Lord,  178-180. 
"  Home  as  Found,"  272,  276. 
"  Homeward  Bound,"  272. 
Hooper,  Dr.  Joseph,  29. 
Howe,  M.  A.  De Wolfe,  274. 
Hudson    River,    The,   93,    120- 

121. 

Hudson,  The,  132-133. 
Hugo,  Victor,  350. 
Huntington,  Daniel,  112-113. 

Irish,  Mr.,  109-110. 

Irving,  Washington,  84,  90,  112- 

113,    138-139,   176,  278. 
Isle  of  Wight,  44,  I33~i34- 
Italy,  197-268. 

Jarvis,  John  Wesley,  91,  95. 
Jay,  John,  Chief  Justice,  32,  41, 

77-78,  80,  259. 
Jay    (Mary   Duyckinck),    Mrs. 

Peter,  88-89. 
Jay,  William,  32,  34,  41. 
Johnston,  Capt.  John,  43-44,  46. 
Jones,  John  Paul,  108-109,  294- 

295- 

Kean,  Edmund,  90. 

Keese,  George  Pomeroy  Keese, 
ix,  x,  xi,  7,  19,  21,  264, 
267,  274,  296,  317,  327- 
328,  340,  342-343,  35i, 
357- 


[   365    ] 


Keese,  Mrs.  Geo.  Pomeroy 
Keese,  300-301,  357. 

Kent,  Chancellor  James,  95, 
131-132. 

King,  Charles,  95,  114. 

Knickerbocker  Magazine,  162. 

Lafayette,      General,      114-116, 

137,     142,    149-157,    1 66- 

169,  233-237. 

de  Lancey,  Edward  Floyd,  29. 
de  Lancey  and  his  seal,  Lieut. 

Gov.  James,  65-66. 
de  Lancey,  John   Peter,  63-64, 

66-67. 

de  Lancey,  Stephen,  65,  67. 
de  Lancey,  Susan  Augusta.    See 

Mrs.  J.  F.  Cooper. 
de  Lancey,  Bishop  Wm.  Heath- 
cote,  68,  343-344. 
Lawrence,  Capt.  James,   I,  60- 

61,  63,  316. 

Lawrence,  Sir  Thomas,  182. 
Leatherstocking,  5,  19,  59,  100- 

101,    120,    123-130,    162- 

164,     189-190,    243,    278, 

282,  322,  332-384- 
Leghorn,  211-212. 
Leland,  Charles  G.,  349. 
Leopold    II    of    Tuscany,    202- 

204. 
Leslie,   Charles  Robt,   177-178, 

182. 
"  Letter  to  his  Countrymen,  A," 

267. 

Lind,  Jenny,  334"335- 
"  Lionel  Lincoln,"  115-118. 
Lockhart,    John    Gibson,    161- 

162,    182. 
Lockhart,    Mrs.    Sophia    Scott, 

181-182. 
London,    44-45,    47,    134.    J7O- 

184,   1 86,  210. 
Louis   Philippe,  234-236. 
Lounsbury,    Thomas     R-,    237, 

288-290,  307,  320. 
Luscomb,  Archbishop,  240. 


McLane,  Mr.  Louis,  235-236. 


Mackenzie,  Lieut.  Alex.  Slidell, 

305-306. 
Mackintosh,     Sir    James,     177, 

182,  232. 

Mahan,  Capt.  A.  T.,  287. 
Marie   Amelie,   236-237. 
Mathews,   Charles,  320-322. 
Matthews,    Brander,    no,    126, 

130,   229. 
"  Mercedes    of    Castile,"    281- 

282. 

Mickieowicz,  Adam,  218-219. 
"  Mohicans,  The  Last  of  the," 

269- 

Monroe,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  119. 
Montague,  Wortley,  120,  126. 
Morris,  Geo.  P.,  90,  93. 
Morse,  Samuel   F.   B.,  95,  239, 

243,   262. 
Myers,    Ned,   45,   49,   265,   286, 

299. 
"  Myers,    Ned,"   48-49. 

Naples  and  Bay,  212-213,  259- 

260. 
"  Naval  History  Dispute,"  287- 

288. 

"  Naval  Officers,  Lives  of  Dis 
tinguished,"  308. 
"  Navy,  History  of  the  United 
States,"  48,  277-278,  288- 
290,  305,  338. 
Nelson,     Judge     Samuel,     265, 

266. 

Newport,  R.  I.,  158-159,  198- 
News,       Illustrated       London, 

162. 
New    York    City,   67-128,    131- 

132,  259-269,  323-324- 
Burn's  Coffee   House,  67-68. 
Castle  Garden,  114-115,  335- 
City  Hotel,  67,  93,  95- 
Fraunces  Tavern,  67. 
Homes,  Cooper's : 
Beech  St.,  98-99. 
Bleeker  St.,  260,  269. 
Broadway,  88,  90,  98. 
Greenwich   St.,   128,  130. 
St.   Mark's  Place,  272-276. 


366   ] 


Theatres : 

Burton's,  321. 
Lafayette,  87. 
Park,  90. 

Washington  Hall,  95. 
Niagara  Falls,  56,  309-310,  315. 
North,  Christopher,  96,  259. 
"  Notions  of  Americans,"  185. 

"  Oak  Openings,  The,"  314. 
Oaken  Bucket,  The  Old,  93-95. 
Oneida,  The,  53-54,  56. 
Ontario,  54,   123. 
Oswego,  N.  Y.,  53. 
Otsego  Herald,   17,   18,  33,  51, 
101. 

Paris,    136,    137-138,    184,    210, 

228,  232-243,  248. 
Parkman,  Francis,  126. 
"  Pathfinder,  The,"  59-60,  278, 

282,  283-284. 
Perry,  Oliver  Hazard,  287,  293, 

305. 

"  Pilot,  The,"  62,  106-111,  351. 
"  Pioneers,    The,"    54,    74,    105, 

in,  258. 
Pomeroy,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George, 

1 8,  21-23. 

Post,  The  Evening,  in. 
"  Prairie,    The,"     59,     129-130, 

138,  162-164,  258. 
"  Precaution,"  74,  77-78. 
Putnam,  George  P.,  112-113, 

335- 
Putnam's  Magazine,  238. 

Quoi    de    Mesereau,    Mon.    Le, 

102. 

"  Recollections  of  Europe,"  13^, 

157,  168. 
"  Red  Rover,  The,"  62,  98,  118, 

146,    156,    158,    1 60,    198, 

238. 

"  Red  Skins,  The,"  308. 
"  Rhine,    Excursions    up    the," 

and  Rhine  Country,  244, 

247-255. 


Rogers,    Samuel,    4=5,    174-176, 

178,   180-183. 
Rome,  216-220. 

Home   in,  218. 

Ruins,  218-220. 

St.  Peter's,  216-218. 

Sailor's  Snug  Harbor,  48-49. 
"  Satanstoe,"  306-307. 
Saxton,  A.  B.,  352-356. 
Scott,  Miss  Anne,  141-142,  182. 
Scott,   Sir  Walter,  76-77,   139- 

143,  160-162,  182. 
Scott,  Gen.  Winfield,  315. 
"  Sea  Lions,  The,"  318-320. 
Shubrick,  Wm.  B.,  62,  109-110, 

316-319. 
"  Sketches     of     England,"     32, 

270,  286. 

Smith,  Gerrit,  317. 
Sowers,  The,  305-306. 
Sorrento,   213-215,   227-228. 
Southby,  William,   183. 
Spencer,  John  C,  305. 
"  Spy,    The,"    74,    83-87,     100, 

iir,  258,  315. 
Stanley,     Hon.     E.     G.     (Lord 

Derby),     120,     123,     126, 

127. 

Stirling,  The,  43-44,  46-48. 
Switzerland,  186-196. 

St.     Bernard,     Hospice     and 

Pass  of,   257-258. 
Bridge,  Devil's,  193-195. 
Homes,   Cooper's  : 
La    Lorraine,    Berne,    187, 

189,    191. 

Mon  Repose,  Vevay,  255. 
Cooper's  book :  ''  Sketches  in 

Switzerland." 
"  Switzerland,      Sketches      in," 

269-270. 

"  Tales    for    Fifteen,"    105-107. 
Talleyrand,     Charles     Maurice 
de,    16-18,    108,    153-154. 
Thackeray,  Wm.  M.,  162. 
'*  Tier  Jack,"  314-315. 
Tom,  Joe,  328-329. 


''  Towns  of   Manhattan,"  338. 
"  Traveling      Bachelor,      The," 

258. 
Trumbull,    Col.   John,    n,   278, 

280. 

Tuckerman,  Bayard,  36. 
"  Two  Admirals,  The,"  286-287. 

Union,  The,  158. 

''  Upside  Down,"  321. 

Uri,  Black  Hole  of,  193. 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  President, 

.    243,  328. 
Venice,  223-231. 
Verboeckhoven,  Eugene  Joseph, 

245-246. 
Vesuvius,  The,  53. 

Wager    seal,   the,    126-127. 
"  Wallingford,   Miles,"    305. 
Wasp,  The,  60,  62. 
"Water  W'itch,  The,"   74,  211, 

215,  219,  232,  259. 
"  Ways  of  the  Hour,"  320. 
Weed,  Thurlow,  273-276. 
"  Wept     of      Wish-ton-Wish," 

204-210. 


Westchester  Co.,  X.  Y.,  63,  83, 
124. 

Angevine   Farm,   72-76,   124. 

Bedford  House,  79,  80. 

Closet  Hall,  70. 

Heathcote  Hill,  66-68,  70-72. 

Locusts,  The,  83. 

Mamaroneck,  74-75,  81. 
Wiley,    Charles,    95,    106,    ITO, 

118. 

Wilkes,  Charles,   106. 
Willis,  N.  P.,  90,  238-239. 
Wilson,  Gen.  James  Grant,  90, 

128,    139,    162,   350. 
"  Wing  and  Wing,"  290-293. 
Wolfe,  Dr.  Theodore  R,  2,  5, 

68-70,  82-83,  260. 
Woodworth,  Samuel,  93-94. 
Woolsey,  Capt.  M.  T.,  54,  57. 
Woolson,  Constance  Fenimore, 

23- 

Wordsworth,  William,  96,  98. 
Worthington,    Alice    Trumbull, 

302-304. 
"  Wyandotte,"  35,  264,  298-299. 

Yale  College,  35,  37-38,  40,  44, 
114. 


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